Clemson stops TCU with defense

Clemson has a lot of offensive weapons, but sometimes good team defense can be a weapon as well.

The Tigers held TCU to one basket over a stretch of 6:32 late in the second half to subdue the Horned Frogs, 70-58, on Saturday night at Carolina First Arena to advance to today's championship game in the Charleston Classic.

"I thought we had a chance to open up the game," said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell. "The first half, I thought they controlled the tempo, but our guys hung in there."

Clemson (2-0) will play Temple (2-0) today at 4 p.m. for the title.

TCU (1-1) will play the College of Charleston (1-1) at 6:30 p.m. in the final game of the tournament.

The Horned Frogs stayed right with the Tigers most of the way, never falling behind by more than 10 points until Clemson pulled away late behind its defense.

When Edvinas Ruzgas finally hit a jump shot with two minutes to play to end TCU's drought, Clemson led 65-55.

"That was the thing we kept harping on," Purnell said. "During timeouts, we'd tell them that we needed to put together a series of stops. We finally had that stretch where our defense took control of the game."

K.C. Rivers led the Tigers with 18 points, and Terrence Oglesby added 14. Ruzgas led TCU with 17.

Clemson held TCU to 37.7 percent shooting from the field and blocked 14 shots.

"It's a little different in tournaments when you don't have but a day to prepare," Rivers said. "We came out a little flat almost. But we made some adjustments and came out with a different plan. They're a good ball club. They put up a great fight."

Clemson led 29-27 at the half, thanks to a 3-pointer with one second to play by David Potter.

The first half was tight throughout, with the biggest lead for either team four points. That belonged to TCU with 13:40 to play.

Clemson's biggest lead of the first half was a three-point advantage with 6:54 remaining.

Today's championship game marks a rare meeting between Clemson and Temple.

Clemson is 0-for-2 lifetime against the Owls, losing 90-82 at Clemson in a first-round NIT game in 1981 and losing 71-52 at Clemson in a regular season game in 1991.

The Tigers were expected to coast into today's finals, but got a tough battle from the Horned Frogs.

TCU opened the tournament with a 67-63 victory over Western Michigan on Friday, while Clemson opened the tournament with a 98-69 victory over Hofstra in Friday night's late game.

The Tigers dominated the game against Hofstra from start to finish.

Trevor Booker led the Tigers with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Clemson also got 15 points from Oglesby, 13 from Raymond Sykes, and 10 from Rivers.

The Tigers forced 23 turnovers and blocked seven shots.