NCAAB Game Preview - North Carolina Central at Clemson

Fri Nov 9, 2018 7:00 PM EST

Entering the season, Clemson coach Brad Brownell knew he needed production from his elite backcourt.

On Tuesday, Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell passed their first test, combining for 36 points, 13 rebounds (all from Reed), seven assists and five steals as the No. 22 Tigers ran past The Citadel 100-80.

Next up, another upset-minded foe, North Carolina Central, visits Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C., on Friday.

Clemson shot 84 percent from the free-throw line and almost 56 percent from the field as it hit the century mark for the first time since 2009.

"Just really pleased with our win tonight. The Citadel is a hard team to play," Tigers coach Brad Brownell said, according to The State. "They're always going to be there because of the 3-point shot and you've just got to be smart."

The win was Brownell's 150th at Clemson.

"Just super blessed to still be at Clemson and enjoy coaching here," Brownell said. "To win 150 games I've had a lot of good players and coaches who are really the reason that happens so I'm excited and hope to get 150 more."

Brownell was pleased with the performance of senior forward Elijah Thomas (15 points, nine rebounds in 24 minutes), who missed both of Clemson's exhibition games with an ankle injury.

"I didn't know if he'd be able to go today. He practiced about 20 minutes yesterday and he came to me in shootaround and said I wanted to try," Brownell said. "It would have been hard to win without him because we just didn't have much depth."

North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton isn't afraid of taking on the big boys. But he wants to play more games close to home.

In 2013, the Eagles knocked off North Carolina State on the way to their first NCAA Tournament bid. Two years ago, they won at Missouri.

"The best thing about this program, the biggest win that we have was the N.C. State victory, but that was also the worst thing because people saw that," Moton said at his preseason press conference recently. "I have respect for other coaches so I don't want to sit up here and call out other schools, but if you looked at our schedule since then we can't get any games in North Carolina. It's really difficult to walk into a North Carolina gym, or a South Carolina gym, or Virginia. Last year we had to fly all the way out to Arizona just to play one basketball game."

Last season, the Eagles finished sixth in the MEAC, but ran through the conference tournament to grab an NCAA bid.

Moton has three starters returning from that tournament team. Sophomore point guard Jordan Perkins, junior Reggie Gardner Jr. and forward Raasean Davis all garnered preseason All-MEAC honors.