Men’s Basketball Mauls Morris Brown, 75-52

Jan 11, 2003

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Senior forward Ray Henderson scored a season-high 15 points Saturday as Clemson’s superior size and strength made the difference in a 75-52 victory over Morris Brown at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Henderson was 7-for-7 from the field as all of his field goals came within three feet of the basket against an opponent that did not start a player taller than 6-foot-7.

Sophomore center Sharrod Ford added 12 points for Clemson (10-1), which won by at least 20 points for the third time this season. Ford and Henderson both grabbed 11 rebounds for Clemson, which outrebounded Morris Brown 43-27.

Forward Amien Hicks led Morris Brown with 10 points as the Wolverines (1-13) lost their 12th consecutive game.

The Tigers made just two of their 14 3-point attempts but controlled the game in the post by outrebounding Morris Brown 42-24. Clemson held Morris Brown to just 37.0 percent shooting (20-for-54) from the field.

After a sluggish start, Clemson used a 12-0 run to go ahead 19-7 at the midway point of the first half. Freshman guard Julian Betko made a 3 during that run for the Tigers’ only basket outside the paint in the first 16:58.

Instead of launching shots from the perimeter, Clemson chose to exploit its size advantage inside. Henderson scored the Tigers’ first seven points of the game, and Clemson outrebounded the Wolverines 28-13 in the first half to lead 35-22 at halftime.

The Tigers put the game out of reach with more dominating play in the post for a 10-0 run to start the second half. Henderson and Ford both scored twice on post feeds and Olu Babalola added a basket off a rebound as Clemson scored on its first five possessions after halftime to increase its lead to 45-22.