Clemson’s preseason tune-up ended the way it wanted: with a win, no major damage and another strong look from the players expected to carry the load.
The Tigers beat Presbyterian 84-70 on Oct. 28 to finish exhibition play 2-0, following their 82-80 win over Georgia on Oct. 23.
Now Clemson shifts into the season opener on Nov. 2.
This one was not a wire-to-wire cruise. Clemson opened quickly, building a 15-5 advantage behind solid work inside from Dylan Faulkner and a pair of 3-pointers. Presbyterian answered with five straight baskets and cut the margin to two, briefly making the Tigers sweat.
Clemson settled things back down before halftime. The Blue Hose finished the first half 0 for 10, and the Tigers went into the break ahead 44-30. After that, the lead never dipped back into single digits.
Faulkner was again one of Clemson’s best players. The senior transfer from Samford followed up his 21-point night and game-winning basket against Georgia with 20 points and eight rebounds against Presbyterian. His presence in the paint is going to matter with Carter Welling out until at least conference play while he recovers from an ACL tear in March.
Ace Buckner also delivered a strong outing, finishing with 21 points and five assists while handling point guard duties with Zac Foster hurt and Dillon Hunter still ineligible just days before the season begins. He played 35 minutes, and Clemson coach Brad Brownell said the team needs about 30 minutes a night from him. Buckner went 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers didn’t light it up from deep as a team, shooting 30 percent from 3-point range against Presbyterian. Notre Dame transfer Cole Certa has yet to find his rhythm, going 0 for 5 against the Blue Hose after going 3 for 10 against Georgia.
Still, Clemson did plenty of damage elsewhere. The Tigers shot 52.7 percent from the floor, outrebounded Presbyterian 38-27 and outscored the Blue Hose by 12 in the paint. They also kept mistakes manageable with nine turnovers.
Liutauras Lelevicius, the TCU transfer, added 11 points. Freshman Harris Reynolds scored nine. David Fuchs led Clemson with nine rebounds.
The only real wobble came in that first-half stretch when Presbyterian briefly tightened the game. Clemson had a few sloppy possessions, including a shot clock violation, while the Blue Hose hit back-to-back 3s and scored at the rim through a foul. With eight minutes left in the half, Clemson led just 24-22, and Brownell looked frustrated on the sideline.
From there, the Tigers took control again. They made five of their final seven shots in the half while Presbyterian missed its last 10, and the margin was back to 14 by the buzzer.
Clemson opens the 2026-2027 regular season on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. against Stetson. Clemson is paying Stetson $110,000 for the game, and the two schools also agreed to share film from two preseason exhibitions or scrimmages before the matchup.
In Other News...
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Clemson has spent much of the early stretch trying to get Reynolds comfortable in the offense, and having another young target available would only help. If Sellars can return, it would give the Tigers another option to lean on in a game that could matter for both the immediate offense and Reynolds development moving forward. [Read more 🡒]