Clemson Ousts Boston College, 78-56

Feb. 2, 2008

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CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Cliff Hammonds scored 14 points and led five Tigers in double figures as Clemson beat Boston College 78-56 in Atlantic Coast Conference action Saturday night.

The Tigers (16-5, 4-3 ACC), who never trailed and saw just one tie at 29 late in the first half, scored 30 points off 20 Boston College turnovers.

K.C. Rivers added 13 points, James Mays had 12, David Potter added 11 and Trevor Booker had 10 for Clemson. The Tigers broke the game open in the first eight and a half minutes of the second half with a 21-9 run, including 11 unanswered points, to take a 57-40 lead with 11:32 to play.

Hammonds, playing the point in place of the injured Demontez Stitt, scored 11 of his points during the run.

Booker, playing with a wrapped right ankle, was 4-for-6 from the field and had five rebounds in 16 minutes in the first half.

The Eagles (12-8, 3-4) were led by Tyrese Rice with 17 points and posted their second-lowest point total of the season. The lowest was 51 points in a loss to Robert Morris on Jan. 7.

Clemson’s largest lead was 25 at 78-53 with 1:39 to play.

Led by Mays and Booker, who had seven rebounds apiece, the Tigers outrebounded the Eagles 31-24, including 21 offensive boards that led to 25 second-chance points.

The Tigers built a nine-point lead in the first 11 minutes, but the Eagles rallied to tie the game at 29 with 2:22 left. A 3-point basket by Terrence Oglesby at the 2:12 put Clemson up for good.