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Rivers, Clemson crush Samford

Dec 30, 2007 - 3:02 AM CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- K.C. Rivers and Clemson clearly have recovered from their first loss of the season.

Rivers scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half Saturday as 20th-ranked Clemson rolled to a 78-45 rout of Samford.

The victory came one week after the Tigers (11-1) suffered their first loss of the campaign, an 85-82 defeat to Mississippi in the championship of the San Juan Shootout.

But Clemson bounced back in a big way against the Bulldogs (5-6), racing to a 43-20 halftime lead and cruising after the break.

Rivers shot 7-of-12 from the floor, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Fellow guard Demontez Stitt scored 15 points and Terrence Oglesby chipped in 10 off the bench for the Tigers, who scored the game's first 14 points.

Clemson shot 53 percent (33-of-62) from the floor and enjoyed a 40-11 edge on the glass.

Joe Ross Merritt scored 14 points to pace Samford, which has lost three of its last four contests and fell to 0-3 all-time against Clemson.

"Clemson is a good team and they are very well-coached," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said. "The best thing that they did is that they out-recruited us three and four years ago.

"Clemson will without a doubt be the best team that we see this season. They have a lot of talent and a nice chemistry, but they are in a very difficult league."