Tigers Pound Blue Hose

K.C. Rivers scored 18 points, Cliff Hammonds added 14 and No. 24 Clemson improved to 17-0 in the last three Novembers with a 74-57 victory over Presbyterian on Wednesday night.

The Tigers (4-0) are 22-1 in November during coach Oliver Purnell's five seasons. Their only loss came Nov. 29, 2004, 79-70 to Boston College before the Eagles joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Clemson hit just 2 of its first 11 3-pointers, committed 20 turnovers and went to the foul line just once in the first 30 minutes against the smaller Blue Hose (0-6).

The Tigers finally seemed to have the game in hand, ahead 53-38 after James Mays and Trevor Booker converted three-point plays.

But behind the long-range shooting of senior Pat Kiscaden, Presbyterian made a final run.

Kiscaden came into the game an incredible 23-of-36 (63.9 percent) from 3-point range in Presbyterian's first five games.

He made his fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut things to 53-47, then added a rare 2-pointer - Kiscaden was just 2-of-4 from inside the arc this season - to bring the Blue Hose within 4 points.

Al'Lonzo Coleman added a pair of foul shots and a basket to pull Presbyterian within 56-53 with 7:54 left.

That's when Rivers took control. He scored the next five points as part of Clemson's 10-2 run. Mays finished the charge, stepping around his defender for a nifty lay-in that made it 66-55 with 5:08 remaining.

Rivers had 11 of his 18 points in the second half. Mays had 13 and David Potter 10.

Coleman led the Blue Hose with 18 points, while Kiscaden finished with 16.

The Tigers moved into the rankings this week, but each time Clemson threatened to break things open, Presbyterian would scratch back.

Freshman Jerai Grant and Rivers had two baskets apiece during a 13-2 stretch that put the Tigers up 31-20. However, a drive by Bryan Bostic and two foul shots by Coleman cut the margin.

Clemson went ahead 36-24 on a dunk by Trevor Booker and Rivers' 3-pointer. But buckets by Coleman and Travis Sligh made it 36-28 at the half.

The Tigers forced Presbyterian into 15 first-half turnovers, yet committed 12 of their own.