Clemson Downs Hofstra 98-69 in Season Opener at Charleston Classic

Nov. 14, 2008

Charleston, SC – Trevor Booker posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead Clemson to a season-opening victory over Hofstra in the opening round of the inaugural Charleston Classic on Friday. With the win, the Tigers advance to face TCU in the second round at 8:00 PM Saturday at the Carolina First Arena.

Booker led five players in double figures for Oliver Purnell’s club. The junior out of Whitmire, SC was 7-11 from the field and grabbed five rebounds off the offensive glass as well. Terrence Oglesby finished the opener with 15 points. He hit 3-4 from beyond the three-point line and 4-5 from the free throw stripe. Raymond Sykes added 13 points, while Tanner Smith had 11 and K.C. Rivers finished with 10.

After an early 3-0 deficit, Clemson put together an outstanding 15-0 run that culminated with back-to-back three-point shots by Oglesby. Booker had seven points during the run, including a three-pointer. The Tigers extended their lead to as much as 17 in the opening half after Smith drilled a three-pointer to put Clemson ahead 36-19. The Tigers took a 39-24 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Clemson took control and took advantage of to multiple trips to the free throw line. The Tigers shot 75 percent for the second half from the stripe, hitting 18-of-24 attempts. Clemson pushed its lead to 27 points after freshman Bryan Narcisse scored his first career basket after only about five seconds of playing time. The lead would grow to as much as 84-48 in favor of the Tigers after David Potter launched a three-point goal and was fouled on the same play.

Twelve of Clemson’s 14 players scored on Friday, including all three freshmen. Clemson was without another freshman, Catalin Baciu, who has been suspended for the first five games of the season by the NCAA for participating in professional games in Romania before signing with Clemson.