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Clemson looking to remain unbeaten

Dec 1, 2007 - 3:04 PM South Carolina (4-3) at No. 18 Clemson (6-0) 4:00 pm EST

CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) - No. 18 Clemson looks to stay unbeaten on Saturday when it hosts South Carolina.

Clemson avoided its first loss of the season on Tuesday, escaping with a 61-58 victory over Purdue in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. K.C. Rivers had 18 points and 12 rebounds in and scored the go-ahead basket with 31 seconds to play. Clemson committed 26 turnovers against Purdue and shot just 10-of-26 from the free-throw line. However, the sloppy play may be attributed to the absence of James Mays, who missed the game after injuring his hip against Gardner-Webb last Saturday.

Mays is the team's second-leading scorer this season, averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. Clemson coach Oliver Purnell expects his senior forward to be back in time for the San Juan Shootout which begins on December 20.

The news came as a pleasant surprise after Mays said on Tuesday that he thought his hip was broken and that he would sidelined for four to six weeks.

South Carolina has stumbled so far this season but has had to face some tough competition. After opening the season with a pair of wins, the Gamecocks suffered a 10-point loss to No. 24 Sothern California on November 17.

Following a win against Penn State, South Carolina dropped back-to-back games to North Carolina State and feisty George Mason by a combined three points. However, the Gamecocks enter the Saturday's matchup after getting back on track with a 40-point drubbing against Campbell on Wednesday.