Mitchell's 20 leads Tigers to 74-66 win over Radford
CLEMSON - Sheldon Mitchell scored 20 points and Elijah Thomas had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead Clemson to a 74-66 win over Radford on Saturday.
The Highlanders appeared ready to put away another major conference team, opening the second half on a 10-2 run. They led 40-35 when Mitchell was fouled on a drive by Devonnte Holland. After reviewing video, the referees called a flagrant foul on Holland for what Radford said on Twitter was "bad language."
Mitchell made 3 of his 4 free throws, then Aamir Simms hit a 3-pointer and Clemson's six-point possession turned a five-point deficit into a 41-40 lead with 14 minutes to go.
The teams stayed close for a while. Mitchell's short jumper with 4:41 to go put Clemson up for good, 60-58. The Highlanders turned the ball over twice and had offensive fouls on two more possessions to end up behind 64-58.
Ed Polite Jr. and Carlik Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers on Radford's next two possessions, but the Tigers scored on their final eight possessions to keep the Highlanders at bay.
Jones scored 18 points and Polite had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Radford.
Dave Skara scored 16 points for Clemson, which played a second game without star Marcquise Reed, who is recovering from a sprained knee earlier this month.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell in his 10th season with the Tigers tied Bill Foster for second place on Clemson's all-time victory list with 156 wins. Cliff Ellis is on top with 178 wins.
BIG PICTURE
Radford: The Highlanders have already beaten Notre Dame and Texas this season, but could not go 3-0 against major conference teams. Radford hurt itself with 18 turnovers and losing the rebounding battle 36-24.
Clemson: The Tigers need Reed back, lacking an outside presence on both ends. Radford shot 56.3 percent (9 of 16) on 3-pointers. Clemson came into the game ranked 329th in the country on 3-point defense, allowing teams to make 39.1 percent of their shots behind the arc.
UP NEXT
Radford: The Highlanders are at UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday.
Clemson: The Tigers host Charleston Southern on Tuesday.