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.

Clemson, which tied the 1986-87 Tigers for most wins in a season, reached the NIT finals for the second time.

Nick Welch scored 16 points and Matt McCraw 15 for Air Force (26-9), which ended its three-game winning streak.

The Tigers had to hang on in this one after leading by as many as 13 early in the second half.

After Booker’s dunk at 16:08 made it 39-26, the Falcons responded with a 25-12 run – capped by consecutive three-pointers by Tim Anderson and Welch – to tie it at 51 with 6:56 remaining.

Clemson got the lead back up at 65-55 on David Potter’s three-pointer with 2:07 remaining, but Air Force wasn’t finished. After Rivers’ two free throws made it 67-60 with 45 seconds left, McCraw made two foul shots 12 seconds later.

The Tigers had a chance to put the game away, but Vernon Hamilton made just one of two free throws with 31.2 seconds remaining, and Rivers missed two with 14.5 seconds left. Clemson finished 7-of-17 from the foul line.

Welch made a layup with 4.2 seconds left, and Dan Nwaelele stole the ball from Cliff Hammonds and hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to make it 68-67. But the Falcons simply ran out of time, as Potter took the inbounds pass from Hamilton and dribbled out the clock.