Clemson Men’s Basketball to Play Host to Appalachian State Friday Night

Nov. 17, 2006

The Clemson men’s basketball team will play host to Appalachian State on Friday night at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson. The tipoff between the Tigers and Mountaineers will be at 7:30 pm. The game will be broadcast live on the Internet via ACC Select and can be viewed by selecting the link below.

Watch Clemson vs. Appalachian State Live!

The Tiger men’s and women’s basketball teams are holding a season long $10,000 shooting contest. The Solid Orange Fan of the game will also be chosen to compete for $50,000 at the end of the year. Show your Solid Orange Pride and bring out all your friends to vote so that you can have a chance to win the grand prize.

SERIES NOTES Overall: Clemson leads, 8-1 at Clemson: Clemson leads, 6-1 at Littlejohn: Clemson leads, 6-1 at App State: 0-0 at Neutral: Clemson leads, 2-0 Last Meeting: Clemson won 76-66 in 2001-02 at Clemson Last App St Win: 72-60 at Clemson in 1999-00

GAME NOTES • Oliver Purnell will look for his 50th victory at Clemson when the Tigers take on Appalachian State on Friday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.

• Clemson has a 8-1 record all-time against the Mountaineers, but this will be the first meeting since the 2001-02 season when Larry Shyatt’s Tigers were victorious, 76-66. Chris Hobbs scored 20 points to lead the Tigers in scoring, while Ray Hendrson had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Clemson had justa 34-33 lead at halftime.

• Appalachian State’s only win in the series took place in 1999-00, a 72-60 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

• Clemson has jumped out to a 4-0 start for just the third time in the last 10 years. Clemson opened 11- 0 last year to tie for its second best start in school history, and was 9-0 to open the 2002-03 season.

• Clemson has played four games, while Appalachian State has played just one. The Mountaineers scored 60 points in their first half of the season and went on to a 109-71 victory over North Greenville on November 13. Kellen Brand was their top scorer off the bench with 19 points in just 18 minutes. Point Guard D.J. Thompson had 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals in 22 minutes .

• Clemson has continued its balance of a year ago. The 2005-06 Tigers had four players average in double figures with the top scorer, Shawan Robinson averaging 12.3 points per game. So far this year, James Mays is the top scorer with a 12.8 average, one of three Tigers in double figures. However, two others are between 9.3 and 9.8 points per game.

• Friday’s game will be the fifth for the Tigers in eight days. This is the first time in Clemson history the Tigers have opened a season with five games in eight days.

• Clemson wing K.C. Rivers has scored in double figures in all four games this year, all as a reserve. He is the only Tiger to score in double figures in every game this year. He is the first Tiger to score in double figures off the bench since Shawan Robinson did it last year.

• Senior Guard Vernon Hamilton needs one rebound and 10 assists to each the 300 mark for his career. Hamilton now has 207 career steals to rank 25th in ACC history. He is already the Clemson career leader.

• James Mays was the MVP of the Cox Communications Classic, the three-game series of games that opened the season, November 10-12. It marked the second straight year Clemson had a tournament MVP during the regular season. Last year Vernon Hamilton was the MVP of the San Juan Shootout.

• Freshman center Trevor Booker is shooting 64.3 percnt from the foul line so far and is the team’s second leading rebounder at 6.3 per game.