Men’s Basketball Dismisses Down Under Bandits, 85-62

Nov. 9, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Will Solomon led four Clemson starters in double figures with 21 points and eight assists, while Adam Allenspach scored 18 points in just 19 minutes Tuesday night, leading Clemson to an 85-62 victory over the Down Under Bandits, a professional team from Australia. The Down Under Bandits fell to 0-5 on their tour. It was their fifth straight game against an ACC team in one week. They had earlier lost to Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Duke.

It was the final exhibition game of the season for Larry Shyatt’s Tigers. Clemson will open the 1999-2000 campaign on Friday night November 19th against East Tennessee State at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Solomon, playing the point guard for much of the night, shot 9-18 from the field, had five rebounds, eight assists against no turnovers and registered four steals in a fine all-around performance. Allenspach shot 9-11 from the field and was unstoppable most of the night, but did have four fouls, which limited his playing time.

Chucky Gilmore had his finest game in a Clemson uniform. The sophomore from Fayetteville, NC made 7-8 shots from the field, scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, including six offensive in 29 minutes. Andrius Jurkunas added 10 points and five rebounds.

The Down Under Bandits were led by guard Allen McCowan with 16 points, while Ryan Stolberg and Scott Mitchell added 13 apiece. The Down Under Bandits made 11 of 33 three point goals, but Clemson won the battle of the boards, 43-21. Four Tigers, had five rebounds apiece to support the 10 caroms from Gilmore.

Clemson continued to play without freshman guard Edward Scott, who is recovering from a broken foot, and Pasha Bains, who must sit out games until December 11 due to the NCAA transfer rule.

Clemson shot 54 percent from the field overall and had just 11 turnovers in the uptempo game. The Bandits made just 43 percent of their shots. Clemson continued to struggle from the foul line, hitting 13-24.

Clemson jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes behind six points from Will Solomon and three from Jurkunas. But, the Bandits, who led North Carolina at halftime last weekend, cut the advantage to 37-34 at intermission. McCowan scored 11 points in the first half to lead the Bandits, while Solomon had 15 for the Tigers.

It was still a five point game at 49-44 with 12:30 left when Clemson went on a 17-5 run. It was a balanced run by the Tigers, as six different Tigers scored. A tip in by Dustin Braddic with four minutes left gave Clemson a 73-54 lead. Clemson’s largest lead was the final score.

“We did an admirable job tonight,” said Head Coach Larry Shyatt. “When Will Solomon can play 37 minutes against a good point guard and not make a turnover, it shows maturity. I thought Chucky Gilmore did an excellent job of finishing second shots. It was certainly his best performance at Clemson.”