In a game wrought with lots of back and forth action, NC State men’s basketball took down Clemson 78-77 in a nail-biting contest.

NC State (16-9, 8-6 ACC) picked up its first quad-1 of the season as it rode the efforts of junior guard DJ Horne, who posted his fifth straight game over 20 points. Along with gathering a monumental victory, the Pack snapped a six game losing streak against Clemson (17-8, 7-7 ACC) and its first win in LittleJohn Coliseum since the 2014-15 season.

Much like the final sequence of its previous game against Wake Forest, NC State found itself with the chance to secure a key road win in the final seconds of the game. After not getting the shot he wanted last game, Horne earned redemption. With nine seconds remaining in the game, he drove in and cashed on a floater to put the Pack up one. Immediately, NC State played strong defense in the waning seconds on the other end to fully capture the win.

From the tip, it was graduate forward DJ Burns who immediately made an impact for the Pack as he tallied its first six points from a trio of mid-range jumpers.

The Pack began to connect on multiple 3’s over the ensuing minutes as Horne nailed a tough triple to cut the deficit to one and junior forward Mohamed Diarra contributed a 3 of his own. Despite some answers from Clemson, NC State continued to respond with back-to-back deep threes via Horne as the Pack enjoyed a 22-17 lead.

The Tigers kept the score in a manageable range, but NC State utilized its defense to stay on top, which included a steal from Horne which was turned into a fastbreak layup. This culminated with a strong NC State 36-29 lead with under four minutes remaining in the half. Turnovers were a major piece of NC State’s gameplan in the first half, posting a plus-five turnover margin in the half.

However, the Pack soon went cold on offense. For the remainder of the half, it did not manage to hit a single field goal, while only connecting on a few free throws. This opened the door for a pair of Clemson three-pointers to trim NC State’s lead to 39-35 at halftime.

Following the break, the Tigers continued to feed off the momentum they established before the break. Putting together a 14-2 run, it appeared as if nothing could go right for the Pack as apart from an early Burns jumper, it did not cash in on any shots from the field for the first four minutes.

As the Pack started to chip away at the deficit, Clemson continued to make it hard on them as Tigers’ guard Joseph Girard truly came into his own as he continued to nail shots from deep. His 23 total points on the evening with four three-pointers proved very challenging for the Pack to guard against. His efforts were key in keeping the Pack at a healthy distance as the score continued to stay around double digits as the score sat at 61-49.

The Pack started to grab some momentum back as junior guard Jayden Taylor drilled a 3. Horne, who had not connected with any of his shots since halftime, came alive as the deficit was suddenly trimmed to seven. The Pack’s prowess from 3 continued as Diarra nailed another to build on the team’s momentum. He quietly put together a solid outing with 11 points, while going 3-3 from beyond the arc along with nine rebounds.

Even though the Pack continued to show lots of fight, it hurt itself by constantly fouling the Tigers. The Pack luckily had Horne as the counterweight as he continued to hit his shots as he nailed yet another three to knot the game at 71.

However, once again the Tigers drew a foul almost immediately as Burns fouled out of the game. He finished with 14 points after battling Clemson center PJ Hall. This foul allowed them to get the lead back but it did not last long as the Pack found a way to remain within striking distance.

With 1:07 left, graduate guard Michael O’Connell drove into the lane and cashed in on a tricky layup to cut the lead to two. The Pack had the chance to tie the game shortly after at the free throw line but only converted on one attempt. However, a timely steal from graduate guard Casey Morsell opened the door for one last chance for the Pack, one that Horne was able to ultimately capitalize on.

After a strong first half, the Pack saw the Tigers come out of halftime with a strong will. Combatting foul trouble, it continually hung in there and waited for the right time to strike. Like it has for the majority of the season, it rallied behind Horne in the waning minutes as he helped steer the team to one of its largest wins of the season.

The Pack will return to PNC Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 20 as it takes on the Syracuse Orange. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN 2.