NO. 18 CLEMSON CRUSHES QUEENS

USA TODAY Sports 

PJ Hall scored a game-high 27 points, 20 of which came in the first half, to lead No. 18 Clemson to a 109-79 victory over visiting Queens on Friday.

RJ Godfrey added 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field as Clemson (10-1) breezed past the 

 thanks to 69 first-half points -- its third most points in a half in school history, and the most since 1993. Joseph Girard III also tallied 19 points for the Tigers, whose 109 points were their most since scoring 118 points in a February 2002 win over Wake Forest. Chauncey Wiggins scored 13 points and added six rebounds for the Tigers.

BJ McLaurin and AJ McKee scored 18 points apiece for Queens (6-8), which never led in its third straight loss. Chris Ashby totaled 14 points and Deyton Albury had 10.

The Tigers raced out to a 40-27 lead at the 6:35 mark of the first half, thanks to back-to-back buckets from Godfrey.

Clemson's scoring didn't slow down, as it poured in 29 points over the final six minutes of the first half, including a Chase Hunter triple at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 69-36 lead.

Clemson made 27 of its 38 shots (71.1 percent) in the first half, as opposed to 13-for-37 (35.1 percent) for the Royals.

Queens kept pace with Clemson's scoring in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 43-40.

A Dillon Hunter layup pushed the Tigers' lead to 107-70, their biggest advantage of the game. Littlejohn Coliseum erupted as walk-on Andrew Latiff scored a bucket with four seconds left for the first points of his college career.

Clemson finished the game 43-for-68 (63.2 percent) from the field, while Queen shot 28-for-74 (37.8 percent).

For the Royals, who are in their second season as a Division I member, Friday marked their first game against a ranked opponent.

Queens will face another Top-25 challenge on Dec. 30 when it travels to No. 21 Duke in Durham, N.C. Clemson hosts Radford on Dec. 29 before Atlantic Coast Conference play begins in January.

--Field Level Media