DAYTON, Ohio — As pleased as he was that his Clemson team had won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 14 years, coach Brad Brownell was already concerned about what comes next.

Jerai Grant scored a career-best 22 points and the fast-starting Tigers built a double-figure lead and never backed off in beating Alabama-Birmingham 70-52 on Tuesday night in an NCAA tournament “First Four” game at the University of Dayton Arena.

There was little time to celebrate. The Tigers hurried to catch a flight to their second-round game against fifth-seeded West Virginia (20-11) on Thursday afternoon in Tampa, Fla.

In other words, their next game is 36 hours after they walked off the court with such wide smiles.

“It certainly is a difficult turnaround to face a good West Virginia team that’s rested and motivated,” Brownell said.

Grant, who hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds, said the most important thing was to sleep — and then get prepared.

“Rest is going to be a big factor,” he said. “We have to prepare, watch video of them and go through their sets and we should be fine.”

Demontez Stitt, Clemson’s leading scorer at 14.7 points a game, said it was important for the Tigers to relax and let their bodies have a break.

“We’ve got a plane straight to Tampa now,” he said. “Plane flights can be kind of draining.”

Also on Tuesday:

UNC Asheville 81

Ark-Little Rock 77

DAYTON, Ohio — Matt Dickey led a late run that brought overtime, and J.P. Primm hit five free throws and had a decisive steal in the closing seconds, sending North Carolina-Asheville to a victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in a dramatic opening game for the NCAA tournament.