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Clemson looks to bounce back against Charlotte

Jan 9, 2008 - 2:19 PM Charlotte (8-5) at No. 19 Clemson (12-2) 7:30 pm EST

CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) - Clemson looks to rebound from an overtime loss to top-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday when the Tigers close out their non-conference schedule against Charlotte.

Nineteenth-ranked Clemson is 12-1 against non-conference opponents this season and is 26-1 in regular season play against non-Atlantic Coast Conference teams over the last two years. Despite trailing for only 13 seconds in the second half, the Tigers fell to the Tar Heels on Sunday on a 3-pointer by Wayne Ellington with 0.4 seconds left in overtime.

Clemson, which leads the all-time series 3-1, has lost only to a pair of undefeated teams in North Carolina (15-0) and Mississippi (13-0). The Tigers and 49ers have not played since the 1993-94 season.

Junior guard K.C. Rivers, who is from Charlotte, averages a team-high 16.6 points for Clemson. Freshman guard Terrence Oglesby averages 12.1 points off the bench for the Tigers. Senior forward James Mays is averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds in nine games and senior guard Cliff Hammonds averages 10.4 points.

Charlotte has already played three ACC teams, losing to Georgia Tech and Maryland while beating Wake Forest. The 49ers are coming off a 76-72 home loss to the Terrapins on Saturday.

Senior guard Leemire Goldwire is the lone Charlotte player averaging double figures at 19 points per game. Goldwire has scored in double figures in every game this season and has made 33 3-pointers in his last seven games.

It is the last non-conference game for Charlotte, which opens its Atlantic-10 schedule on Saturday against Temple. The 49ers' only victory in the series came at Clemson in the 1990-1991 season.

Clemson has won 20 consecutive home games and 37 of 38 against non-conference opponents.