Temple To Battle Clemson For Charleston Classic Championship :: Owls seeking first in-season title in 20 years

Nov. 16, 2008

CHARLESTON, SC - It has been 20 years since Temple has won an in-season regular season tournament and that is what the Owls will be trying to accomplish when they take the court Sunday afternoon against the Clemson Tigers in the championship game of the Charleston Classic Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The game will be carried live on The BigTalker, 1210 AM WPHT and televised on a tape-delayed on Comcast SportsNet (1:30 a.m.).

All-America candidate Dionte Christmas, who earned his eighth Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week honor Sunday, has scored 26 points in each of the first two games. The 6-5 senior guard is 26 points shy of tying Howard Evans (1,459 points, 1984-88) for 20th place on the Owls' all-time scoring list.

Sophomore Lavoy Allen has started the season with two double-doubles while freshman Ramone Moore took just two games to record his first career double-double with an 11-point, 10-rebound game in the team's win over Charleston. Junior Ryan Brooks has scored in double figures in each of the first two games.

Clemson, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Oliver Purnell, defeated Hofstra and TCU to reach the final. Senior swingman K.C. Rivers leads a balanced scoring attack with a 14.0 average.

The Owls and Tigers have met twice on the hardwood, the last coming during the 1990-91 season. Temple has won both meetings, with each coming at Clemson.