Clemson 74, East Carolina 40

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Posted 5:37AM on Thursday, December 30, 2004

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Sharrod Ford and Shawan Robinson each scored 14 points to lead Clemson to a 74-40 victory over East Carolina on Wednesday night. Clemson (9-3) shot 55 percent from the field, and scored 26 points off 18 turnovers. The Tigers opened the second half with a 14-3 run to go ahead 48-22 with 15:42 to play. East Carolina answered with a 12-2 run that cut Clemson's lead to 50-34 with 11:53 remaining. The Pirates scored seven points from the free throw line during the run. But the Tigers put the game away with 15-2 run. Vernon Hamilton had two baskets and an assist off the backboard to Olu Babalola for a dunk during the run. Akin Akingbala's field goal capped the run to give the Tigers a 65-36 lead with 4:27 left. Akingbala and Cheyenne Moore added 10 points apiece. East Carolina (4-7) was led by Mike Cook with a game-high 18 points. Cook was the lone Pirate in double figures. Clemson's man-to-man defense limited East Carolina to 21 percent from the field in the first half. The Pirates made just seven field goals in the opening half and Clemson led 32-23 at the break. The Tigers used a 14-2 run in a five-minute span to take a 16-4 lead with 13:18 left in the half. Robinson and Cliff Hammonds both made 3-pointers during the run. The Pirates scored just six points in the first 12 minutes. After Tom Hammonds made a field goal at the 16:42 mark, the Pirates made just one of their next 15 shots and had four turnovers. ``We got thoroughly, thoroughly outplayed. It started at the beginning of the game,'' said East Carolina coach Bill Herrion. ``They sent a message: 'We're going to be physical and annihilate you.''' Clemson coach Oliver Purnell was pleased with his team's performance. ``We talked before the game about locking a team down. Our defense did a nice job,'' Purnell said. ``We've got to have a number of guys play well and balanced scoring inside and outside. If we do that, we're going to be tough to beat.''