Milton Jennings scored 18 points and K.J. McDaniels had 17 to lead Clemson past Texas-El Paso 69-48 in the consolation round Friday night at the Old Spice Classic.
Adonis Filer added 10 points for Clemson (3-1). His late 3-pointer put the Tigers up by 21.
UTEP (1-3) got 15 points from John Bohannon. Justin Washburn finished with 11 points.
Both teams were coming off first-round tourney losses on Thursday. Clemson fell to No. 17 Gonzaga 57-49 and UTEP lost 68-61 to Oklahoma.
Clemson built a 47-30 lead with 15 minutes to play on Jennings' long-range jumper and a Rod Hall layup. A pair of dunks by Devin Booker made it 51-32.
Booker wound up with six points and 10 rebounds.
Two baskets by Washburn cut the UTEP deficit to 53-40 midway through the second half.
McDaniels had 14 points as Clemson took a 38-26 halftime lead. His fourth trey of the half gave the Tigers a 38-18 advantage 3 1/2 minutes before the break.
Jalen Ragland's 3 keyed an 8-0 run that got UTEP within 38-26.
Clemson made five 3-pointers, including two apiece by T.J. Sapp and McDaniels, to go up 15-3 five minutes into the game. Jennings had the other basket during the Tigers' early run.
A driving layup by Hall and another 3 by Jennings made it 20-4 two minutes later. Jordan Roper's 3-pointer extended the lead to 27-9 midway through the opening half.
The Tigers were 10 of 12 in the opening half from 3-point range.
