After dropping its last four road games and last three games overall, N.C. State (17-7, 6-5 ACC) has found itself back on the winning side in its travels after defeating the Clemson Tigers (12-11, 4-7 ACC) in the closing seconds.
“We did not play very well early in the game,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We kept fighting, kept battling and we found a way to win the game.”
The Wolfpack, after trailing by as many as 12 points, earned its third and final lead of the game off a three-point shot from senior forward Scott Wood with one second remaining. Wood finished the game with nine points off three baskets beyond the arc, giving him a career total of 293. The mark propelled him past former Clemson Tiger K.C. Rivers for 11th all-time in the ACC.
“It was a good team effort,” Wood said. “We kept fighting, and at the end, we got the result that we needed.”
State struggled throughout the game, shooting only 37.7 percent, despite entering the game third in the country in team field goal percentage. It was the defense, however, that kept the Pack within reach. Clemson turned the ball over 17 times and only shot 38.6 percent for the afternoon.
Senior forward Richard Howell led the way for State, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Howell earned his 14th double-double of the season, tying him with UL-Lafayette’s Shawn Long for fourth nationally.
Junior guard Lorenzo Brown, after missing the last two games due to an ankle injury, scored 15 points off of the bench and led the team in assists with four.
“Lorenzo played with a lot of toughness and heart,” Gottfried said. “That comes with experience.”
“We have been struggling for a while,” Brown said. “I just do whatever I can do to help my team out.”
Junior forward Calvin Leslie earned his third double-double in the last four games, scoring 12 points and snatching 10 boards.
Freshman guard Tyler Lewis made his second consecutive start and scored six points, serving as a complement to Brown for a large portion of the contest.
“Tyler has earned the right, with his play, to play more,” Gottfried said. “He takes some pressure off of Lorenzo to handle the ball, and he did some things really well. In our minds, we have added Tyler into our rotation.
“My confidence is still very high,” Lewis said. “Knowing that we want [Wood and Howell] to get to the NCAA tournament, we knew we had to win this game.”
After trailing the majority of the game, the Pack fought back to bring the score to 57-53 with 19.3 seconds remaining in the game. Brown made two shots at the charity stripe to bring State within two with 14 seconds to play.
After two Tiger timeouts, Clemson senior forward Milton Jennings was fouled by Leslie. Jennings missed the front end of the one-and-one, and State called a timeout to set up its winning play.
“Running a play for Scott Wood to make a three is like running a play for somebody to try to get a layup,” Gottfried said. “He is that good.”
The Pack will return to PNC Arena Feb. 16 to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.
