By Ed McGranahan

Freshman guard Jordan Roper knew the transition from high school wouldn’t be as easy as a layup.

Coach Brad Brownell had explained to him that playing time would increase as he improved defensively.

“He’s done better,” Brownell said after Clemson’s 80-57 win Saturday night at Littlejohn over Florida A&M. “They didn’t play a lot of man-to-man defense in high school.

“He’s had a lot to learn,” he said. “He’s made good strides in a month, and that’s helped him get more minutes.”

In his first college start, the 5-foot-11 guard from Columbia delivered a team-high 16 points – primarily from long range – leading a balanced Clemson offense and hitting 6-of-8 from the field including 4-of-5 from 3-point range to ignite a second-half surge that saw Clemson lead by as many as 31.

“I made a few turnovers,” Roper said, “but I thought I played pretty well.

“It meant a lot to me, just playing. I’m just here to do whatever I can to help our team win.”

On the heels of final exams, a week removed from a loss to Arizona, Clemson shot 52.6 percent from the field (30-for-57), 65.2 percent in the second half after an irregular first half that Brownell said had a “pickup game feel to it.”

“One of those games where you can lose your discipline a little bit and have some bad habits at times because the game feels a little soft, a little bit of a pickup game feel to it,” he said. “We came out in the second half and I think our starters did a real good job of establishing the tone and kind of pulling away.”

Clemson scored the first nine points in the second half to nearly double its lead with Roper hitting three straight from long range.

“He made shots, which is good to see,” Brownell said. “He’s got to continue to get better defensively, but he plays with confidence. I think our guys feel he’s a guy that can make some shots for us so that’s good.

“It was a looser game, so there were more shots to be had, but give him credit. He made the ones that were opened and knocked them down. For our team right now, it was something we desperately need.”

Adonis Filer delivered 14 points off the bench. Devin Booker had 12 points and K.J. McDaniels had 11 playing with a sour stomach for Clemson (6-3). Milton Jennings contributed 11 rebounds, and Rod Hall had 10 assists.

“We were playing kind of sloppy because we thought we were the better team,” said Hall. “Coach told us to pick it up during the second half and play the game instead of the players.”

Junior guard Reggie Lewis scored a game-high 26 points for Florida A&M including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Muhammad Abdul-Aleem scored 12 for the Rattlers (4-7) from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. No other starter scored.

Lewis’ teammates were 0-for-12 from 3-point range and shot 31.8 percent overall (21-for-66). Clemson also commanded the boards, 49-32.

Clemson now has a 27-1 record against teams from the MEAC. It was the Tigers’ first game with A&M in 26 seasons.

The Tigers play at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.

“I told them this was a game where you’re going to have really good habits or you’re going to build bad ones,” Brownell said, “reminding them to have good habits, play with good habits.”