The Tigers tip off the season tonight at 7:00 in Littlejohn! They had a slow start offensively the other day in the exhibition against Tennessee and fell behind by as many as 15 in the 2nd half but fought hard to come back and made it a 2-point game with 14 seconds left, losing by 4. They have a lot of new pieces this year and are still trying to figure out personnel groupings. Eli Thomas scored the first point of the game and didn't score again, spending most of the game on the bench in foul trouble. That was probably the difference in the game alone. Let's hope they get the season off to a good start tonight! Clemson is 11-0 all-time against Western Carolina. Guys, we're experiencing some issues with the forum posts, so some of the posts might look a little off. Sorry about that and thanks for your patience!

Tigers lead 17-13 with 12 mins left in the half. Eli Thomas did not start the game curiously. Perhaps Brownell is thinking he might avoid some early fouls.

Mark Donnal with a nice drop step and layup! Tigers lead 19-15.

Tigers force a shot clock violation on D.

Grantham 3! Tigers lead 22-15 with under 10 mins left in the half.

Tigers' lead down to 22-19 now with 8 mins left in the half after a couple bad possessions.

Eli with an offensive board and dunk! Tigers lead 28-20 with 5 mins left in the half.

Marquise Reed layup in transition and one! Tigers lead 30-20 with under 4 mins left, and Reed will have a chance at a 3-point play after the timeout. Tigers are in the double bonus.

Everything clicking for Tigers tonight! DeVoe hits a 3 to extend the Tigers' lead to 41-20 with 1:30 left in the half!

Grantham for 3! Where was this on Sunday?? Tigers double WCU 44-22 with 30 secs left in half.

DeVoe and Grantham lead all scorers with 9 apiece. Reed has 8, Donnal and Eli each have 6. TIGERS LEAD 44-22 AT THE HALF.

Grantham hits another 3! He's 3-3 from 3 tonight. Tigers lead by 27!

Tigers pretty much exerting their will offensively. Western is out-manned. Reed and Mitchell pretty much getting to the rim any time they want.

Tigers lead 57-31 with 14:41 left in the game.

Eli with back-to-back blocks! That fired up the crowd.

Scott Spencer scores from outside! Tigers lead 64-35 now with under 12 mins left.

Brownell has cleared his bench with the game in hand. Malik Williams makes both free throws. Tigers lead by 32 with under 10 mins left.

Malik Williams hits an outside jumper. Tigers lead 74-40.

I'm headed down to the court. Will have post-game interviews with Brownell and players in about 45 minutes.

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Clemson University men’s basketball program won its 33rd-straight season opener in convincing fashion on Friday night. The Tigers dominated the Catamounts of Western Carolina and moved to 1-0 on the season with a 85-57 rout in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers (1-0) were able to pull away from the Catamounts (0-1) early in the game thanks to a 22-2 run that would push Clemson’s lead to a commanding 44-22 advantage. The run began at the 7:13 mark of the first half and ran until halftime – holding WCU to just two points over the final 8:55 of the opening period. Clemson’s largest lead came in the second half when the Tigers would go up by 36 points. The Tigers had four finish in double-figures, led by senior forward Donte Grantham with 14 points. Grantham also grabbed five boards. Both Elijah Thomas and Gabe DeVoe tallied 11, while Marcquise Reed collected 10 points. As a team, the Tigers shot 50.0 percent from the floor, including 25-for-31 from the foul line. Clemson scored 20 points off of 20 Catamount turnovers. The Tigers return to the court on Sunday, Nov. 12 when they host North Carolina A&T for a 2 p.m. contest inside Littlejohn Coliseum. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-CLEMSON or visiting ClemsonTigers.com. Notes: With the win, Clemson extended its season-opening win streak to 33 in a row … the Tigers moved to 12-0 all-time against the Catamounts … coincidentally, the last time the Tigers faced the Catamounts was head coach Brad Brownell’s first game as a Tiger to open the 2010-11 campaign – a 87-64 win … Clemson eclipsed the 85-point mark on just seven occasions last season … head coach Brad Brownell is now just eight wins away from No. 300 of his career.