Clemson 81, No. 12 North Carolina 72

Clemson 81, No. 12 North Carolina 72
By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writer
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Shawan Robinson scored a career-high 24 points to help Clemson beat No. 12 North Carolina 81-72 on Saturday.
The win was the biggest for Clemson (9-10, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) since defeating then-No. 1 North Carolina 75-65 in February 2001. It also was the first big upset for rookie coach Oliver Purnell.
North Carolina (13-5, 3-4) has yet to win a conference road game this season.
The Tigers entered the game as the ACC's worst 3-point shooting team, averaging 29.8 percent. But against the Tar Heels, they hit a school-record 84.6 percent (11-of-13) of their 3s -- including 5-of-6 by Robinson. Most were open shots as the Tar Heels gambled for turnovers by trapping on the perimeter.
Clemson's defense was impressive too, holding North Carolina scoreless for one eight-minute stretch in the first half.
The Tar Heels turned the ball over 14 times and shot 6-of-19 from 3-point range.
Clemson also got to the foul line, making 20 of 33 free throws, compared to 10-of-17 for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels cut the lead to 54-47 with less than 14 minutes to go before the Tigers hit four 3-pointers to take a 66-52 lead. North Carolina would not get closer than eight the rest of the way -- even though Clemson didn't hit a shot in the final 4:40.
Rashad McCants led the Tar Heels with 26 points. Melvin Scott added 12 points and Jawad Williams had 10 for North Carolina.
Olu Babalola scored 14 points for Clemson, while Chey Christie scored 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the 3-point line.
The win was not enough to get the Tigers out of the ACC basement, but did send some of the sellout crowd spilling onto the court.
North Carolina now must regroup before playing No. 1 Duke on Thursday.
Clemson has only won 19 of its 131 games against North Carolina, but four of those wins have come in the last six games at Littlejohn Coliseum.