NC State men’s basketball suffered a crushing road loss to the Clemson Tigers in large part because of a slow start in the first half of the game. In the second half, the Pack began to heat up, but late foul trouble led to a Tigers victory.

Going into this matchup, the Wolfpack (11-4, 1-3 ACC) hoped to end its three-game losing streak against the Tigers (11-3, 3-0 ACC). The two teams last faced off in the first round of the 2022 ACC Tournament when center PJ Hall played a crucial role in guiding Clemson to a win.

This time around, the Pack prevented Hall from having a large role as he finished with only five points and five rebounds. Clemson’s main source of contribution, however, came from forward Hunter Tyson, who posted a double-double with 31 points and 15 rebounds.

On the other side of the court, NC State saw a big contribution from a familiar face in sophomore guard Terquavion Smith. Going into the game, Smith was hoping to score more points as he only averaged 4.5 points in both games against Clemson last season, and he certainly saw more success this time around as he finished the game with 21. Senior guard Casey Morsell also had a solid game with 13 points and seven rebounds.

In the first half, neither team saw much success offensively. Both teams seemed to experience rather long periods where they could not make shots, which was largely due to bad decision-making and overall poor ball management.

After a 9-0 run in the early stages of the first half, NC State experienced several intermittent drought periods. This proved to be rather costly for the Pack as it allowed the Tigers time to break out of their own droughts. During this period, graduate forward DJ Burns struggled as he picked up two fouls in the half alone, but Morsell instead took a leading role as he posted 10 points and five rebounds. By halftime, the Pack had only made a measly 21.9% of its shots, which included 21.4% from the 3-point arc, and trailed the Tigers 28-21.

Coming out of the locker room, Clemson got a huge boost when Burns picked up his fourth foul, which prompted an angry response from head coach Kevin Keatts, earning a technical foul. For the majority of the second half, Burns was confined to the bench while Tyson burst onto the scene. After he only scored five in the first half, the second half was a different story as he scored 26. This helped give the Tigers momentum as their lead stretched to as much as 17.

The Pack desperately needed an answer offensively to match up with Tyson. After a cold first half, Smith got hot at the right time, scoring 16 in the second. His presence proved to be crucial as he drew several fouls and made 6-8 free throws in the half. Graduate forward Jack Clark also made his presence known in the second as he grabbed seven rebounds, and junior forward Ebenezer Dowuona also had a great half as he posted nine points.

With the efforts of Smith, Clark and Dowuona, the Pack clawed back to within striking distance as the game neared its end. Despite trailing the entire half, NC State rallied to within five with two minutes to play. However, any hopes of a potential comeback fell apart as Morsell earned a technical foul after getting tangled up with a Clemson player. The Tigers used this shift of momentum to pull away for the 14-point victory.

In a season that has seen ACC road teams struggle, this game was no different. For the majority of the contest, NC State seemed largely off its game, and it took an extended amount of time to find a rhythm. Even though the Pack saw several key players begin to hit their shots, it was ultimately not enough as mistakes such as fouls helped offset any potential success.

Despite Smith eventually finding his footing, it will be worth keeping note how his shot selection progresses as he only connected on three of his 13 attempts from behind the arc. NC State’s defensive problems continued to be an issue as many open shots were left open for Clemson to take advantage of, and the Pack will also need to do more to keep Burns out of foul trouble in the future. So far this season, the team has played its best when Burns is on the court, and his absence for most of the game was greatly felt.

NC State will look to bounce back at home on Wednesday, Jan. 4 against the Duke Blue Devils. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.