SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Patrick Beverley had 16 points and seven rebounds to help No. 18 Arkansas beat College of Charleston 75-49 Thursday in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Darian Townes added 11 points for the Razorbacks (2-0), who outrebounded the Cougars 53-27. Sonny Weems finished with 10 points.
Arkansas will meet Providence in Friday's semifinals. The Friars beat Temple 66-64 earlier Thursday.
Dustin Scott scored 12 points for College of Charleston (0-2), which shot 28.6 percent from the field.
The Razorbacks got off to a fast start, opening the game with a 16-2 run.
The Cougars pulled within three late in the first half but Vincent Hunter made a 3-pointer and Gary Ervin scored to help Arkansas take a 33-25 lead at halftime.
The Razorbacks put together a 13-0 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Beverley got it started with a basket and two free throws, and finished it off with another hoop that made it 46-29 with 15:35 left.
Steven Hill also had nine points and six rebounds for Arkansas.
Clemson 84, Mississippi State 82
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Clemson escaped Starkville with an 84-82 victory Thursday evening at Humphrey Coliseum despite Mississippi State all-American candidate Jamont Gordon’s 11th career double-double effort.
Gordon scored 23 points on a 7-of-16 effort from the floor to surpass the prestigious 1,000-career point mark, along with 12 rebounds. Fellow All-SEC, first-teamer Charles Rhodes recorded 13 points of his own in the losing effort, while sophomore standout Jarvis Varnado also claimed 12 rebounds and his second-straight six-block outing. Louisville transfer Brian Johnson, who formerly recorded his only career double-double versus Clemson as a Cardinal, notched 10 points to score in double figures for only the second time in his collegiate career and round out State squad members scoring in double digits.
The Tigers were led by freshman guard Terrence Oglesby and junior K.C. Rivers who each scored 17 points on a collective 9-of-23 effort from the floor. As a team, Clemson was held to only 34 percent from the floor but took the advantage by attempting six more shots than the Bulldogs.
After losing the lead early in the first half, coach Rick Stansbury’s Bulldogs (1-1) went into halftime down 39-32. After a hard-fought second stanza, State was sparked by a Varnado jumper and stormed out to a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead. Soon after, however, the Tigers would respond with an 8-0 stretch of their own to regain the lead for the final time.
The loss breaks an eight-game home winning streak for Mississippi State, as Stansbury remains just six wins shy of surpassing his mentor Richard Williams for the title of the winningnest head basketball coach in MSU history.
State will welcome Tennessee-Martin into Humphrey Coliseum Saturday to cap a three-game homestand before traveling to Anaheim, Calif., to compete in the Anaheim Classic. Tipoff for Saturday's contest is set for 7 p.m. CT and will not be televised.