TIGERS HOLD OFF WOLFPACK, SET UP REMATCH AGAINST HOKIES ON WEDNESDAY

By Wyatt Krueger

Staff Writer

March 9, 2022

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Winners for four straight entering Tuesday, No. 10-seeded Clemson (18-15, 8-12 ACC) won again, outlasting No. 15-seeded NC State (11-22, 4-16 ACC) 70–64 in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Despite an off night offensively, the Tigers held the Wolfpack to 35% shooting from the field and an underwhelming 4-for-23 from three point range, setting up a rematch with No. 7-seeded Virginia Tech in round two on Wednesday night.

“I thought we guarded exceptionally well today,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said after the game. “They're hard on those ball screens; They do a great job of getting downhill. I thought P.J. and our post players really did a good job of leveling some things off. A game that was bump and grind for most of the start, but our guys hung in there, and I thought we got better flow the longer it went.”

Defensively, Brownell’s squad keyed in on NC State’sTerquavion Smith. The Wolfpack guard averaged 16.5 points per game entering the ACC Tournament, but was held to just seven points on 2-for-13 shooting from the field.

“We looked up the floor, made good enough decisions to keep separation, and got just enough stops to keep them at bay,” Brownell said. “I thought we guarded the three well and did a great job on Smith, which was a big key for us.”

Clemson was led by center PJ Hall who notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes of play while dealing with a nagging foot injury.

Against the Hokies last Saturday, Hall had 12 points, four rebounds and played great defense in a four point win.

“I've learned to sacrifice and make sure I can be truthful to my teammates because there were times I was out there and I hurt my team because I couldn't move very well,” Hall said after the game on dealing with his foot injury this season. “In hindsight, I want to compete, but you have to be smart. That was definitely a huge learning point for me.”

A big sequence in the game came with just over 12 minutes remaining in the second half. NC State cut the deficit to three points after a fastbreak layup by Breon Pass.

Clemson fought back with a mid range jumper by Hall, and two pull up threes by guard Nick Honor – who came up huge for the Tigers – for an 8-0 run.

Honor scored 13 points and played 35 minutes due to guard Chase Hunter dealing with foul trouble early on.

Up next, the Tigers face Tech, a team they beat just four days ago in South Carolina to finish the regular season.

“I thought we played as hard and as well as we can play defensively against a great Virginia Tech team,” Brownell said. “They have great poise, experience. Their big guys, they're not only talented, they're really smart. They're high IQ players.”

Clemson held second team all-ACC forward Keve Aluma to only seven points in the previous matchup and in turn, the Hokies shot just 9-for-30 from three point range.

“Our guys fought like crazy in that game,” Barnwell said. “We're going to have to play with maximum effort and shoot the ball better than we did tonight to beat a really good [Virginia Tech] team.”