ANDERSON, S.C. – The new word at Clemson is balance.

After several seasons with one go-to guy and four others trying to get him the ball, the Tigers had six players score in double figures for the second time in four games as they beat Maine 73-61 on Saturday.

“We don’t have people capable of making a lot of points, but we have a lot of people capable of making good points,” Clemson coach Larry Shyatt said. “That’s good teamwork on offense.”

Edward Scott led the Tigers with 17 points. Olu Babalola had 12 points, Ray Henderson added 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Sharrod Ford had 10 points and eight boards as Clemson (4-0) is off to its best start in six seasons.

“You can’t just gear up your defense to stop just one or two people,” Scott said. “You have to play everybody.”

Maine (1-5) was led by Kevin Reed’s 18 points. Justin Rowe, playing his first game this season after serving a five-game suspension, scored 12 points shooting 6-of-6 from the field and had seven rebounds.

The Black Bears tried to get the ball inside to Rowe more, but Henderson, Babalola and Chris Hobbs denied the ball.

“They kept their strong bodies on him and kept him off the block,” Maine coach John Giannini said. “They also had pretty good help down on him.”

It took Clemson a while to clamp down on the senior, who scored six points as the Black Bears took a 17-12 lead eight minutes in. But Clemson went on a 16-0 run over the next six minutes, going 7-of-8 from the field while the Black Bears missed six straight shots and turned the ball over five times in the same span.

The run started with Henderson missing a layup, then a follow before finally tipping the ball in. Ford followed with a dunk, and Scott’s twisting lay-up gave the Tigers the lead for good at 18-17.

Clemson continued to pad its lead, taking a 44-26 advantage with a minute to go in the half before baskets by Rowe and Joe Campbell cut the Tigers’ halftime lead to 44-30.

Babalola scored all 12 of his points in the first half. “He was high level intensity and really charged on defense,” Shyatt said.

The Tigers would build the lead back to 18 before the Black Bears got back into the game on an 11-1 run. Kevin Reed’s 3-pointer with 8:39 left cut Clemson’s lead to 56-48. Maine could have been closer, but missed five of six free throws during the five-minute stretch.

Shyatt called timeout after Reed’s 3, and Ford ended the Black Bear run with a putback.

“I wish we were good enough we didn’t get challenged so much,” Shyatt said.

On the Tigers’ next possession, Scott hit another twisting layup that elicited “ooohs” from the crowd and put Clemson ahead 60-48.

From there, the Tigers slowed the game down and cruised to their 10th straight win over an America East Conference team.

“When Clemson picked up the defensive pressure, we had a real hard time executing and getting a shot,” Giannini said. “We have a ways to go.”

The game was played at the Anderson Civic Center, the Tigers’ home away from home until renovations are completed next month at Littlejohn Coliseum.

TIGERS 73, BLACK BEARS 61

Maine (1-5) Clemson (4-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Brown 0 1 0 0 0 Ford 5 7 10

White 4 6 2 2 10 Babalola 4 11 2 4 12

Rowe 6 6 0 5 12 Henderson 5 10 10

Reed 7 16 0 0 18 Scott 6 15 4 17

Jackson 1 2 0 0 3 Christie 3 10

Dobson 4 12 1 5 10 Betko 0 2 0

Petkus 1 5 0 0 3 Robinson 4 10

Hill 0 2 0 0 0 Hobbs 2 2 0 4

Dubois 0 0 0 0 0

Campbell 2 5 0 0 5

Totals 25 55 3 12 61 29 62 14 73

Maine 30 61

Clemson 44 73

3-pt. goals: Maine (8-27): Reed 4-12, Jackson 1-2, Dobson 1-3, Petkus 1-4, Hill 0-2, Campbell 1-4; Clemson (6-17): Babalola 2-6, Scott 1-3, Christie 1-4, Betko 0-2, Robinson 2-2

Attendance: 5,000