By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON— Clemson head coach Brad Brownell started Wednesday morning having to suspend his senior Milton Jennings after the forward was arrested earlier in the morning for possession of marijuana in his apartment.

Brownell and the Tigers spent Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum trying to clean up the mess. But, in the end Clemson could not overcome that or D.J. Byrd’s 22 points as Purdue beat the Tigers 73-61 in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.

Byrd hit six three-pointers—all in the first half—and finished the game with a game-high 22 points.

“We almost played like today was not our night, and that is really inexcusable,” Brownell said. “Sometimes with young kids, they fall into pity parties and feel like it is just not going well, but we have to make it go well.

“We tried in the second half, but we could not get it done. We could not get over the hump. We could not make enough shots.”

Purdue (3-3) led by as many as 23 points and never trailed again after Byrd drained a trifecta from the left wing for a 7-5 lead with 16:37 to play. That three-pointer started a string of four straight for the Boilermakers as they took control of the game. That sparked a 16-2 run for a 20-7 lead.

“We were a little out of whack at times because we played lineups that we really have not practiced until today,” Brownell said.

Devin Booker, who led Clemson with 18 points and seven rebounds, said Jennings arrest was inexcusable, especially considering how much his teammates—12 sophomores and freshmen—need his leadership.

“I’m definitely disappointed. He is a grown man and I can’t tell him what to do,” Booker said. “He makes his own decisions, but I’m definitely disappointed in him, and hopefully he will learn from his mistake and come back strong.”

Booker wasn’t just missing his teammate. The 6-foot-8 senior was also worried about his grandfather who had a heart attack Tuesday. Brownell wasn’t sure if his starting center was going to even make it back in time for the game or show up at all.

“I thought Book played well under the circumstances,” the Clemson coach said. “It was a hard two days for him and we really did not know until six o’clock that he was not coming back. It was touch and go whether he would even comeback.

“I thought he competed very hard and played the hardest of anyone on our team tonight.”

Forward K.J. McDaniels had 15 points and six rebounds.

“We missed Milt tonight, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We have to come out and play as hard as we can no matter whom is out.”

Early on, the Tigers (4-2) did not play too hard, but Purdue did. The Boilermakers came out smoking in the first half as it hit 57.1 percent of its shot, including a 7-of-10 effort from Byrd. The senior totaled two less points than Clemson did as a team, scoring 20 points. Byrd connected on six three-pointers.

At one point, Byrd helped the Boilermakers make four straight three-pointers as they raced put to a 20-7 lead. The Tigers tried to counter the first half spurt as Booker scored seven points, but 1-of-10 shooting from behind the arc hurt Clemson and allowed the Boilermakers to add on to their lead.

“We were getting outplayed,” Brownell said. “When teams make those kinds of shots it energizes them, especially as a road team. It gave Purdue tremendous amounts of confidence. I told them we were a step slow.”

Clemson will try to come out faster on Sunday as it hits the road to Columbia where it will take on rival South Carolina. The game is scheduled to tip at noon. Brownell says he will decide on Jennings’ future for the game and at Clemson in the days to come.