No. 24 Tigers drain barrage of 3-pointers in rout of Presbyterian

By Pete Iacobelli - The Associated Press

CLEMSON -- Freshman Noel Johnson had four of No. 24 Clemson's 14 3-pointers in a season-opening 84-41 victory over Presbyterian on Friday night.

Johnson, a former Southern Cal signee, got things going for the Tigers with three straight first-half 3s for an 18-4 lead from which the Blue Hose couldn't recover.

Johnson finished with 12 points, and David Potter, Andre Young and Bryan Narcisse each hit a pair of 3-pointers. Even big Trevor Booker, the Tigers' 6-foot-7 force in the middle, got into the act by rattling home an off-balance heave from the deep right corner.

It was too much for Presbyterian, which is in just its third season of Division I basketball. Zach Faircloth led the Blue Hose with 14 points.

One of the big questions for Clemson this year was who would shoot the 3. Its two top threats from last season, K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby, are gone and few of the returnees had a reliable stroke from way outside.

Enter Johnson, a 6-6 guard from Fayetteville, Ga., who had signed with Southern Cal and Tim Floyd last fall. Johnson began to doubt his choice when he heard Floyd spoke with Arizona about its basketball vacancy, and allegations of improper recruiting of former Trojans star O.J. Mayo sealed Johnson's decision to look elsewhere.

He got his release and landed at Clemson in late June, where he's quickly become option No. 1 from the outside. Johnson had three 3-pointers in an exhibition win over Francis Marion last Friday night and showed no hesitation to put it up early against the Blue Hose.

After the third straight 3, Johnson showed he could pass as well, with a nifty feed to Booker for an easy bucket.

Johnson had some outside help, too, as eight Tigers scored from long range — the most since 1982-83 at Virginia, when the distance was a more modest 17 feet, 9 inches.

No. 24 CLEMSON 84PRESBYTERIAN 41

PRESBYTERIAN (0-1)

Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Troyli 4-9 2-3 10, Mutakabbir 0-3 0-0 0, Holmes 4-15 0-0 9, Faircloth 5-9 1-2 14, Davis 1-4 0-0 2, Hargrave 1-2 0-0 3, Reynolds 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 16-45 4-7 41.

CLEMSON (1-0)

Potter 3-6 0-0 8, T.Booker 3-9 4-4 11, Grant 0-1 1-2 1, Stitt 2-5 2-2 6, Smith 6-9 1-2 14, Johnson 4-9 0-0 12, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Baciu 0-3 0-0 0, Young 3-6 0-0 8, Narcisse 4-7 0-0 10, Jennings 2-6 0-0 5, D.Booker 2-4 2-3 6, Hill 1-4 0-0 3, Petrukonis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-70 10-13 84.

Halftime–Clemson 41-22. 3-Point Goals–Presbyterian 5-15 (Faircloth 3-4, Hargrave 1-2, Holmes 1-3, Allen 0-1, Davis 0-1, Mutakabbir 0-1, Troyli 0-3), Clemson 14-30 (Johnson 4-8, Narcisse 2-3, Potter 2-4, Young 2-4, T.Booker 1-1, Jennings 1-2, Hill 1-3, Smith 1-3, Stitt 0-2). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Presbyterian 29 (Faircloth 10), Clemson 43 (T.Booker 8). Assists–Presbyterian 9 (Allen, Holmes, Mutakabbir 2), Clemson 21 (Young 5). Total Fouls–Presbyterian 11, Clemson 11. A–9,177.