The Clemson Tigers (1-0) opened the season with a resounding victory over the visiting New Hampshire Wildcats (0-1) by a score of 88 to 38 on Monday night in Littlejohn Coliseum.
The season opener seemed like an introductory press conference to the fans as returning senior guard Dillon Hunter was the only returning Tiger on the roster who saw action on the court last season. The 2025-26 Tigers welcomed 6 new players via transfer, 4 true freshman newly on campus and some returning redshirt freshman who were
with the team last season but did not see playing time.
The new look Clemson starting lineup would show the size that coach Brad Brownell had recruited to Tiger Town during the offseason as the starting front court featured Nick Davidson (6’10” Senior transfer from Nevada), Jake Wahlin (6’10” Junior transfer from Utah) and the return of RJ Godfrey (6’8” Senior transfer returning to the Tigers after a stint at the University of Georgia). Joining Dillon Hunter in the backcourt was transfer guard Jestin Porter (6’1” Senior from Middle Tennessee State).
From the start, the talent mismatch between the Tigers and the Wildcats was evident as Clemson would jump out to an early lead while the Wildcats had trouble simply finding the bottom of the basket. The high intensity defense from the Tigers was causing fits for the Wildcats as they started the half 0-for-12 shooting from 3-point range and would finish the half shooting only 1-for-16 from behind the arc and shot under 20% for the half. Clemson finished the half on a 21-5 run and led 43-16 going into the locker room.
While extending the lead further in the second half, Clemson was putting its newly acquired depth on display for the crowd at Littlejohn. Prior to the game, Brad Brownell stated that he was planning on playing 11 guys even in a tight game and as the game progressed, you could see the reasoning behind that decision. 11 Tigers found their way onto the scoring sheet and the scoring on the night was balanced across the entire roster with significant contributions across the board.
Freshman Ace Buckner led the Tigers with a team-high 18 points in only 20 minutes of play in his debut for the Tigers. The newly incoming transfers also made an immediate impact for the Tigers as Jake Wahlin finished with 11 points while fellow transfers Nick Davidson and Carter Welling rounded out the double figure scorers for the Tigers with 10 points each. The balanced scoring doesn’t end there as Godfrey, Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter were all one basket away from finishing with double figures themselves.
The Tiger shot 51% from the field on the evening (26-of-51) and held the Wildcats to a paltry 25% (14-of-56) with the high-pressure defense forcing a 4-of-27 performance from 3-point range for the Wildcats. Combine this with the 1-of-19 3-point shooting performance from beyond the arc by Presbyterian in the scrimmage that the Tigers recently held and it shows that the team’s pressure exterior defense is having early season effects on opponents.
On the interior, the size and physicality of the Tigers was just too much for the Wildcats. Despite a less than stellar exterior shooting performance from the Tigers (6-of-19) they would force the ball inside which would result in 41 free throw attempts in the contest. Clemson would also outrebound New Hampshire 38-22.
Clemson will return to action Friday night as they host the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs to Littlejohn Coliseum at 7:00pm. Stay tuned to Shakin the Southland for all of your Clemson basketball coverage and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your thoughts on the new look Tigers as the 2025-26 season officially kicks off.
Article from Mark Gordon
For more Clemson basketball, check out the video below by basketball editor Ryan Kantor.
