GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Shelton Mitchell scored 22 points with four steals, Elijah Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds and No. 16 Clemson beat Akron 72-69 on Monday in the first game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
Marcquise Reed added 16 points for Clemson (4-0), which returns four starters from last season's Sweet 16 game. Sophomore Aamir Simms added 12 points to reach double figures for the fourth straight game after doing it just three times last season. Mitchell was 9 of 13 from the free-throw line compared to Akron's 15 attempts, and Thomas secured his 12th career double-double with 4:08 to play.