After a disappointing loss to Boston College Saturday, the NC State men’s basketball team got back on track, beating the Clemson Tigers 66-61.
The Pack was bolstered by a dominant second-half performance by redshirt senior guard Ralston Turner, who finished with 23 points.
With its possible NCAA Tournament bid in jeopardy, the Wolfpack (18-12, 9-8 ACC) helped improve its status after a hard fought win over the Tigers (16-13, 8-9 ACC) and earned its ninth ACC win in the process.
Both teams played some of their ugliest basketball of the season in the first half, as the teams shot a combined 16-for-56 from the field, including an abysmal 5-for-21 from beyond the arc.
State’s sluggish play from Saturday seemed to carry over to Tuesday’s game. Both the Tigers and Pack came out of the gate shooting ice cold; State missed its first six shots, while Clemson missed its first five. The first points of the game came in the form of a hook shot from redshirt sophomore Jaron Blossomgame, ending the lackluster play of both teams to start the game.
The Wolfpack also committed five turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game, with sophomore guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber responsible for three of them. Threes were the name of the game for the Pack in the first half as 12 of the its 18 first-half points came from beyond the arc, with the Pack’s first two-point bucket coming with 5:50 left in the first.
Sophomore forward BeeJay Anya made his presence felt early, blocking two shots in the first eight minutes and altering many more.
Entering the break, the Pack trailed the Tigers 21-20, as the teams shot 25 and 31.3 percent, respectively, in the half.
The Wolfpack started the second half on the right foot, hitting five of its first nine shots, including 3-for-4 from three. After scoring just two points in the first half, Turner caught fire, scoring 21 of his 23 points in the second and giving the Pack some much needed momentum.
Ignited by Turner’s sharp shooting and tenacious team defense, the Pack engineered a 25-5 run to go ahead for good. During the run, the Pack capitalized on a Tigers scoring drought of more than 13 minutes, where they shot 0-for-15 from the field and committed five turnovers.
The Tigers made things interesting in the late stages of the game, but Turner was once again the go-to guy, hitting several clutch free throws to help the Pack stay ahead.
Freshman guard Caleb Martin made some clutch plays of his own, including a tough tip-drill to Barber for a crucial basket in the last minute of the game. The Tigers’ rally brought them within six with 14.6 to play. The last half-minute of the game saw both teams trade free throws, with a combined 42 shots taken from the line by both teams.
Despite the fight the Tigers put up in the waning minutes of the game, the Pack was able to hang on for its 18th win of the season. Shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, including 55.6 percent from three, and Turner’s 23 points were key in a must-win situation for the Wolfpack.
The Pack next sees action Saturday at PNC Arena against Syracuse in its last game before next week’s ACC Tournament, but State cannot afford a sluggish start against an Orange team looking to play spoiler for teams hoping for a ticket to the Big Dance.
