Thomas’ double-double leads Clemson to dominant victory over CSU

CLEMSON, S.C. — Elijah Thomas posted his fourth double-double this season and 15th of his career with an ultra-impressive 25-point, 14-rebound and four-block effort that led Clemson University men’s basketball to a dominating victory over Charleston Southern, 78-51, on Tuesday night.

Thomas finished the game 9-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. The senior big man chipped in two steals and an assist to round out his performance. Aamir Simms, who went his first six shots from the floor without missing, finished the game with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

Shelton Mitchell posted with 14 points and a team-leading six assists to go along with three steals. Mitchell’s bucket at the 4:55 mark of the opening stanza gave the graduate senior guard exactly 1,000 points scored for his career.

The Tigers (8-3) led by as many as nine points in the first half but took an eight-point lead into the locker room.

What happened immediately following halftime, however, was something the Tigers hadn’t done for a while. With a halftime score of 35-27, the Tigers opened the second half on an incredible 18-0 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from both Mitchell and Simms. It only took 3:29 into the second half for the Tigers to build the 26-point lead. Dating back to the first half, in total, the Tigers completed a 21-0 run during the game.

Freshman Parker Fox entered the game with a little over a minute remaining and proceeded to cash his first career points on a 3-pointer to cap the night for Clemson. The Tigers coasted to the 27-point victory.

Clemson returns to the floor on Saturday, Dec. 22 when it travels to in-state rival South Carolina. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN2.