REED SCORES 29, SKARA 19 AS NO.22 WINS SECOND EXHIBITION WITHOUT ELI THOMAS, 89-80

No.22 Clemson was without Eli Thomas for the second straight exhibition game, but Marcquise Reed scored 29 points, David Skara 19 and Shelton Mitchell 17 to beat Barton College 89-80. The Tigers trailed by 5 points at the half after the Bulldogs went 7-10 from 3 in the first 20 minutes. 

Skara was fantastic, going 7-10 from the field and 3-4 from 3! He was 4-4 in Saturday's win at UNC Wilmington. If he can be a consistent contributor on offense and make some 3's this season, this team jumps to another level. He virtually did nothing on offense last year as a defensive specialist and rebounder. He also had 10 boards tonight for his first double-double, although it won't go in the record books since it was an exhibition. 

Brownell just told me after the game that Eli Thomas has a bone bruise and hasn't practiced in 10 days. He doesn't know at this time when they will get him back. Sophomore Malik William also didn't play tonight with a concussion, so they were without two big bodies in the front court. They went with a pretty small lineup, with true freshman guard John Newman getting the start. Simms only played 27 minutes, and the transfer Javan White only played 5. Mitchell told me after the game that his knee feels fine, and it's better than it was at any point last season

The Tigers will host The Citadel at Littlejohn on Tuesday night in the season opener.