CLEMSON, S.C. - Cold shooting by the Trojans and a late first-half run by the Tigers propelled Clemson past Anderson, 62-36, in men's basketball exhibition action Saturday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.

"[Clemson] is good," said Anderson head coach Jason Taylor. "I am proud of our guys and our fans are phenomenal. We absolutely loved and appreciated the support of our Trojan fans. They are the best. I am also proud of my players. I could not be more proud of a group of guys."

In the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between the Trojans and Tigers since the AU men's basketball program began competing as a four-year institution in the 1995-96 season, Clemson center Landry Nnoko dropped in a close basket to open the scoring at the 19:07 mark. Exactly a minute later AU senior guard Myson Jones tied the game with a jumper from the right wing for the first of only three times on the night.

With both teams looking to work off the rust from the offseason and the Trojans playing stout defense, the score was still knotted at 2-2 at the first media timeout at the 15:31 mark of the opening half. But immediately following the break, Jones drained a 3-pointer from the left side that gave AU its first lead, at 5-2, with the Tigers' Donte Grantham countering with a trey to even the score once again. Jones answered with a 3-pointer from the right wing and AU still held the advantage until Clemson scored six unanswered points to regain an 11-8 lead.

Sophomore center Rakish Taylor and Jones combined for three consecutive free throws to even the score for the final time of the night, with Tigers' forward Jaron Blossomgame connecting on a 3-pointer that gave Clemson a lead it would not relinquish, at 14-11.

Following two free throws from Jones that trimmed the Tigers' lead to 16-14 with 6:11 remaining in the first half, the Tigers capitalized on the Trojans' ice-cold shooting at less than 22 percent by scoring 12 unanswered points as part of a 21-3 outburst over the final 5:49 to take control of the contest.

Using their size and strength to pull down 13 offensive rebounds in the first half, the Tigers scored 12 second-chance points and outscored AU 8-0 in points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes and held a 37-17 halftime advantage.

The Trojans scored the first seven points of the second frame to cut Clemson's lead to 37-24, as senior guard Alani Adekambi drained a pair of free throws, guard DJ McGowan followed by dropping in layup and guard Nick Jackson connected on a long 3-pointer from the right wing to cap the outburst.

But the Trojans would get no closer, as their shooting woes continued through the second stanza. Clemson got its first points of the second half on two Blossomgame free throws at 16:19 that stopped the AU surge and gave the Tigers a 39-24 cushion.

Despite the shooting woes, Anderson guard Lex Davis snapped a seven-minute scoring drought with a trey from the top of the circle that again trimmed the Tiger lead to just 13 points with 8:21 left. But the Trojans were unable to capitalize and close the margin any further, misfiring on its next six shots, while CU responded with eight consecutive points and held the margin through the rest of the contest.

Clemson out-rebounded Anderson, 54-40, and shot 31.7 percent from the field, while the Trojans posted 15.7 percent shooting on the night. AU scored eight points off 15 Tiger turnovers, with Clemson notching 11 points off 16 AU miscues.

Jones led all scorers with 15 points on the night, while Adekambi and Davis each added four points. McGowan led the Trojans with seven rebounds, with Jackson and Jones pulling down five boards apiece.

Senior guard Rod Hall and Jordan Roper each scored 12 points to pace the Tigers, with Blossomgame collecting a game-high 13 rebounds.

Anderson opens the regular season on Friday at the SAC-Peach Belt Conference Challenge, hosted by GRU Augusta. The Trojans will face the host Jaguars Friday night and wrap up the Challenge by squaring off against Clayton State on Saturday afternoon.

Clemson is set to open the regular season at home on Friday against Florida A&M.

Tip-off versus the Jaguars is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga.