Clemson, S.C. (Nov. 13, 2013) --- Delaware State trailed by seven points early in the second half before hitting a cold spell in a 58-37 loss to Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Littlejohn Coliseum this evening.
The Hornets trailed 32-23 at the break, and pulled to within seven (32-25) when Casey Walker hit the first basket of the second half with 16:58 left to play.
The Tigers answered with a 10-2 run, and opened up a 42-27 lead on a three-pointer by Damarcus Harrison with 12:36 remaining.
DSU pulled to within 42-29 when Kendall Gray hit two free throws on the next Hornet possession, but Clemson responded by scoring 14 of the next 17 points to take control of the game.
Delaware State was outscored 26-14 in the second half.
The Hornets were competitive with the much bigger Tigers in the opening half.
Delaware State scored the first points of the game on a three-pointer by Walker and led 4-1 after three minutes. Clemson was zero-for-six from the floor and committed three turnovers before hitting its first shot on a dunk by Jaron Blossomgame with 16:07 left in the opening period.
The Hornets trailed 17-6 when Tyshawn Bell hit two free throws and jumper on consecutive possessions to pull DSU to within seven points (17-10).
Jason Owens came off the bench to hit two first half jumpers, including the final shot of the half, to cut Clemson's lead to nine at intermission.
The Hornets held Clemson to 36 percent shooting in the first half (nine-for-25), but the Tigers warmed up to hit 10-of-21 shots from the floor (47.6%) in the final 20 minutes.
Delaware State outshot the Tigers in the first half, but was held to four-of-24 shooting after the break (16.7%). The Hornets missed their last 13 three-point shots to finish one-for-13 for the game (7.7%).
Clemson was five-for-17 from beyond the arc.
Harrison came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 15 points, while K.J. McDaniels added 11.
Gray was high scorer for Delaware State with eight points (6-8 FTs). He also led the Hornets with three blocks.
Walker had seven points and a team-high six rebounds. Walker, a career 3.6 per game rebounder, has 26 boards in the DSU's three contests this season (8.7 pg). Owens had six points on three-of-four shooting from the field.
Delaware State committed a season-low five turnovers in the game.
The Hornets return to action on Nov. 19 at George Washington University. Game time is 7:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
