Clemson advances to NIT championship

Mar 28, 2007, 4:05 GMT

New York, NY - K.C. Rivers drained several momentum-killing three-pointers down the stretch, and the Clemson Tigers advanced to the NIT championship game with a 68-67 victory over Air Force at Madison Square Garden.

Rivers had five total threes in scoring 19 points, Trevor Booker totaled 13 points, while Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds had 11 points apiece for Clemson (25-10), which will play West Virginia on Thursday night for the title. The Mountaineers defeated Mississippi State, 63-62, at the buzzer in the first semifinal.

Nick Welch didn't miss from the field for 16 points and Matt McCraw scored 15 points for Air Force (26-9), which shot 53 percent from the floor in a losing effort. Jacob Burtschi added 12 points in the loss.

Trailing 49-37, Air Force went on 14-2 burst to square the contest. Tim Anderson and Welch drained back-to-back threes, the second making the score 51-51 with just over seven minutes to play.

The Tigers countered with five straight consecutive points, as Booker converted from in close and Rivers came off a screen and buried a three to post the Tigers to a five-point advantage.

Rivers drained another three to give the Tigers a 61-53 edge with just under four minutes left. Clemson kept draining threes, as David Potter buried one from the left corner to push the edge to 65-55.

The Falcons didn't quit, scoring the next five points capped by McCraw's three with about 1:30 to play.

Hamilton missed the front end of a 1-and-1 on the other end, but McCraw missed an open three and Anderson didn't convert the putback. Rivers then buried two free throws for a 67-60 game.

The Tigers held on for the semifinal victory from there, despite an attempt for some late Air Force heroics. Leading 68-64, Clemson threw an in-bounds pass away, and Dan Nwaelele intercepted, stepped back and drained a three with 1.2 ticks remaining.

Clemson held a double-digit lead in the first half at 28-13 on Hammonds' long three with 4:03 on the clock. The Falcons swooped back into the game, drawing within 28-22 on back-to-back threes by Burtschi and McCraw.

The Tigers held a 30-22 advantage at the break.

Welch's bucket brought the Falcons within 43-35 with just over 13 minutes left, but the Tigers responded. Rivers drained a pair of three-pointers in a one-minute span, the second staking the Tigers to a 49-37 lead with just under 12 minutes to play.

That marked the last highlight for the Tigers before they regrouped down the stretch.

Game Notes

This marked the first-ever meeting between the schools...Clemson last made the NIT semifinals in 1999...This year marked Air Force's first-ever appearance in the NIT...The Tigers started the season with 17 victories, holding the distinction as the last unbeaten team in Division I college basketball at the time...Nwaelele scored 13 points in defeat.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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