CLEMSON — Clemson hosted Georgia for an exhibition game on Friday night inside Littlejohn Coliseum, with the Tigers getting a buzzer-beater from Dylan Faulkner to knock off the Bulldogs 82-80.

The Tigers led for all but 40 seconds until a three-pointer by Georgia tied it up with under 10 seconds to go. However, a short jumper from Dylan Faulkner as time expired pushed Clemson to victory. Faulkner’s first attempt was partially blocked, but he came down with it and put it back in for the win.

“That was more exciting than we like, but probably really good for our team,” Brad Brownell said. “This was a great experience for us in terms of a lot of guys getting to play meaningful minutes. Mike (White) and his guys do a great job. They play at an unbelievable pace. They are really hard to guard. They just keep coming at you. Shoot the ball really well from three. Proud of our guys. Found a way to win a game. Made some plays against a good team in a tough situation. Great win. Lot of fun.”

Faulkner led all scorers with 21, while also pulling down seven rebounds. He also added five assists and two blocks. He was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line.

Coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, Georgia was picked by members of the media to finish 11th in the SEC this season. Clemson was picked to finish 7th in the ACC.

Here was the starting five for Clemson:

• G Cole Certa
• G Ace Buckner
• F David Fuchs
• F Dylan Faulkner
• F Liutauras Lelevicius

– There was a lot of sloppiness in this one. On both sides and every facet. A lot of things to clean up before the season starts just over a week from now. Both teams were in the double digits when it comes to turnovers — 13 for Clemson and 12 for Georgia. It was also a foul-fest — 27 for Georgia and 17 for Clemson. One of the biggest takeaways is that this was nowhere near the level of defense Brad Brownell tends to expect from his teams. Still a lot of growth to be had there.

– Faulkner was definitely a bright spot. He was a problem for the Dawgs from the opening tip. He scored 11 of the first 19 points for Clemson and had two big blocks in the first half. The transfer from Samford looks like he might be a key piece for this team. He plays physical and is not afraid to bang around down low.

“He is a good player,” Brownell said. “He can do a lot of different things. He can dribble, he can pass, he can score around the basket. He is just experienced. He has played in a system like ours. We have done some things within our system to try and accentuate some of the things he is good at because he is a good player.”

– With Zac Foster out for the season, it was Buckner who ran the point for most of the first 10 minutes of the game. However, after picking up two quick fouls midway through the first half, Buckner went to the bench and the Tigers’ offense started to stall without the veteran guard. Freshman Harris Reynolds has an extremely high ceiling. It is easy to see. But the offense just wasn’t as smooth tonight when he was running it. The freshman also struggled with his shot.

Buckner came back out to start the second half but was right back on the bench after picking up two more fouls in less than three minutes. He returned later but would pick up his fifth, fouling out with about five minutes remaining.

“Obviously, with Ace (Buckner) in foul trouble, we had to play without our lead guard, so Harris got thrown into the fire a little bit, which was good for him,” Brownell said.

Right now, this offense is much better when Buckner is running the point.

– Reynolds had a rough game. He was 0-for-6 from the floor, with all but one of those coming from beyond the arc. For one night at least, it still looks like the game needs to slow down a little more for him, which isn’t unusual at all for a freshman. But with Foster out, his learning process is being sped up dramatically. This team is going to need him.

“That was not an easy home debut for our freshman, Harris,” Brownell said. “Partly because we left him out there some tired. So he was playing fatigued. Then obviously, Georgia is long and athletic and aggressive defensively. But he is going to be a really good player here. He is smart. Just needs experience, and this was a great learning lesson for him.”

– Cole Certa struggled with his shot, going just two of his first eight from beyond the arc. However, he hit his third with under three minutes to play that put Clemson in front 78-70. It was a clutch shot. His perimeter shooting was a big part of the reason he was brought in from Notre Dame.

– Dallas Thomas hit some big, timely shots in the second half, including a couple of threes. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Thomas might be ready to play a key role coming off the bench in year three with the program. With Buckner in foul trouble, Thomas also handled some of the ball-handling in the second half.

– The Tigers had some issues down low defensively, which could be bad news once they match up with some bigger teams during the season. David Fuchs was up-and-down defensively under the basket, as was Liutauras Levevicius. For Faulkner, there was more good than bad. The Dawgs finished with 15 offensive rebounds, with 12 of those coming in the first half, before some foul trouble in the second.

“Thought we defended well in the first half, but maybe not quite as well in the second,” Brownell said. “This will be really good for us because we will have a lot to learn from this game.”

– Levevicius has to be more of a factor on the offensive end. He only took three shots in 21 minutes.

– Clemson did win the battle on the boards 38-35 and had 16 offensive rebounds of their own.