New York – K.C. Rivers scored 19 points as Clemson held on to beat Air Force and advance to the National Invitation Tournament championship with a 68-67 victory Tuesday night.
Trevor Booker added 13 points for Clemson (25-10), which will play West Virginia (26-9) for the championship Thursday night. The Mountaineers beat Mississippi State 63-62 on Darris Nichols’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the earlier game.
Clemson, which tied the 1986-87 Tigers for wins in a season, reached the NIT finals for the second time – and first since losing to California in 1999.
Nick Welch scored 16 points and Matt McCraw 15 for Air Force (26-9), which had its three-game winning streak stopped after reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time in program history.
