The Associated Press

ANDERSON, S.C. - Edward Scott was near tears in the Clemson locker room. The biggest game of the season so far against Cincinnati and he came up zeros, missing all seven shots in the first half. "He was ready to cry, he felt so bad," said forward Olu Babalola.

Scott made up for everything after the break. He scored all 20 of his points in the second half and kept the Tigers on their best start in seven seasons with a 58-51 win over the Bearcats (5-3).

Clemson hasn't opened 7-0 since the 1995-96 season when coach Larry Shyatt was an assistant for Rick Barnes. And there hasn't been a lot to celebrate the past several years as the Tigers hung near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

So with Cincinnati fresh off a nationally-televised 77-52 win over No. 5 Oregon at the Jimmy V Classic this week, Scott knew he couldn't allow himself a bad half.

He apologized to his teammates and quickly went out and proved his worth where it mattered most - on the court.

"They told me they didn't need me that half, but they would after that," Scott said. "I had to suck it up and it turned into a brand new game."

Scott began his run when he was fouled on a reverse layup early in the half and finished the three-point play to extend the Tigers lead to 33-25. Scott's first 3-pointer four minutes later made it 40-32. When Cincinnati cut the lead to 40-38 with 9:59 left, Scott hit another unusually long 3-pointer.

And after Jason Maxiell made two jumpers to tie the game at 47, Scott's drive put the Tigers ahead for good.

Scott scored nine of the Tigers' final 11 points to secure the team's biggest victory in four years. He went 0-for-7 in the first half then hit seven of 11 shots the rest of the way.

Babalola said Scott hits impossible shots all the time in practice.

"I think for as long as I see it, I'm going to think it's lucky," said Babalola, who had 11 points. "But there's something inside him that can do that."

Scott said a big early win like this could springboard the Tigers into a very special season.

"We've had the quality wins before," he said. "But we use this one to get us going."

Shyatt wouldn't guess at what the Cincinnati win could mean later on, only that his team's on the right track now.

"I think our guys have bought in," Shyatt said. "They have a belief at the moment."