When senior guard Engin Atsur returned to the lineup for Saturday’s game against Boston College, teammates thought their point guard spot had finally been solidified.

But after a one-game cameo, Atsur reinjured his hamstring during Monday’s practice and watched from the sideline in street clothes for the 10th game this season. He could only look on as N.C. State fell to undefeated Clemson 87-76, failing to notch its first conference win of the year.

“Yesterday he didn’t practice and then [before the game] in our walk-through he didn’t participate in that,” freshman forward Dennis Horner said.

Frustration continues to grow as the losses have piled up and Atsur’s status remains unknown from one game to the next.

“We can’t worry about Engin,” junior forward Gavin Grant said. “We thought we had him, he reinjured his hamstring, and we have to wait it out again. In the meantime we just have to keep playing.”

The move was supposed to benefit Grant more so than other players, as it was all but determined he would slide over to his natural position once Atsur came back against Boston College.

Instead, Grant continued to play out of position and tried to supplant an experienced guard who has started 96 games in his career for the Wolfpack.

“It affects me a lot, but we can’t make excuses,” Grant said. “I was definitely a lot more comfortable last game. I was able to get out on the wing and get on the break.”

It was clear that Clemson, already with the identity of a pressing team, was going to force the issue by using full court presses and traps on the Atsur-less Pack.

“There were times when I thought [Gavin] was going to fall just trying to make a pass because he’s just so tired,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “Whereas with a point guard, he can handle that stuff, that doesn’t bother [him] — and that’s what Engin does for us.”

However, State was able to break the press for most of the first half, getting nine points in transition. Most of the turnovers came in the half-court offense, where Atsur excels in running the team.

“We handled the press very well, we had practiced all week for it,” sophomore forward Ben McCauley said. “But in our offensive sets in the half-court — that’s where it really hurts not to have Engin because he’s the guy that really settles us down, gets us into our offensive sets and runs the show basically. Unfortunately we were rushing it once we did break the press.”

As the team looks forward to Saturday’s game at Wake Forest, it does so with what has become a continued theme of uncertainty surrounding whether Atsur will play.

“It’s a game-by-game thing — which is even more frustrating,” Lowe said. “We need him. We need him to play.”