Tigers extend winning streak, advance in ACC Tournament over NC State |
Clemson men’s basketball held on late top the NC State Wolfpack 70-64 and advance in the ACC Tournament being held in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center Tuesday.
The 10th-seeded Tigers (17-15) have won five in a row and seek multiple ACC Tourney wins for the first time since 2008 in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game with 7-seed Virginia Tech (ESPN2). The Tigers shook off some perimeter shooting woes in the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Nick Honor to stretch the Clemson lead to 11 points with 11:03 to go. They had missed 14 of their first 16 3-pointers to that point. Meanwhile, Clemson locked down defensively, holding the Wolfpack (11-20) to 32.4% shooting in the second half, 1-of-12 from beyond the arc. NC State cut the lead down to as low as six with just over five to go, but the Tigers found their stroke from the perimeter again, with Al-Amir Dawes and Chase Hunter knocking down treys to build the lead back out to double-digits with four minutes left. The Wolfpack got back within five points on a Jaylon Gibson bucket with over a minute left, but Clemson-leading scorer PJ Hall answered back with a pair of made free throws. Hall affected NC State’s next shot and the Tigers poured on more from the free throw line to put the game away. "Good win for our team. Proud of how we defended. I thought we guarded exceptionally well today," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. "It was a game that was kind of bump-and-grind most of the start but our guys kind of hung in there and got better flow as we went. PJ got us off to a good start offensively and we kind of played with a lead through most of the second half. They made a nice little run, and give our guys credit, we were able to answer... "Happy for our team. We really hung in this year. I couldn't be more proud of these guys." Hall, making his first start since Feb. 19 after aggravating a foot injury, scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and posted four blocks. It was Hall's fourth double-double and 27th game in double-figures scoring this season. "I really hoped I was going to play him 25-26 (minutes) today," Brownell said of Hall's injury situation playing through pain. "We had a couple freshman bigs maybe not play quite as well as I would have liked to steal a few more minutes. So, I talked to him and he's ready to go. Great to think about the next game and the next game and the next game but you got to win the game you're in. We'll wake up tomorrow pretty much like we have all year and PJ will tell me how he feels and the trainer will say how much he can play if he can play and if he can't -- he won't. But yeah, that was probably five or six minutes (of Hall playing) than I would have liked but I think PJ would tell you in the moment that he wants to win the game and be out there." Honor, with 13, and Dawes, with 12, joined Hall in double-figure scoring. Clemson increased its advantage late in the first half thanks to defense and points in the paint. NC State was held to 38% shooting and only went to the free throw line twice in the first 20 minutes, knocking down one free throw. The Wolfpack made up for it in the second half with 20 free throws (15 made). Clemson struggled from beyond the arc in the first period (2-for-9), but the Tigers attacked the rim for a 16-10 points in the paint advantage in a 29-24 halftime edge. Brownell’s team did miss some opportunities to pull further away at the free throw line themselves, going 3-of-7 in the session. Hall scored a team-best eight points in the half. He was countered by Jericole Hellems’ nine points, all from 3-point baskets. Clemson improved to 3-2 in ACC Tournament games held in Brooklyn under Brownell. The Tigers have won at least one game in the ACC Tournament in four of the last six events after just one win in the previous five going back to 2012. Clemson has won four of the last five over the Wolfpack. Defense ?? Offense @chunt3r2 #ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/6rKo1e57vy .@pjhall020 presents how to score in the post 101 ??#ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/fsZP8qRKsF .@NickHonor3 BACK TO BACK THREES!!!!!! ????#ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/gVONwYwODF .@pjhall020 ?? @chunt3r2 for 3????#ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/qBgMlp9QfD [3/16] Let's hear it for the @clemsonmbb Tigers as our lights swap to orange & purple #ClemsonGRIT #ESBright pic.twitter.com/Mc9C2G4z2J
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