Here are some the thoughts from those who covered NC State Wolfpack basketball's 74-70 overtime loss at No. 18 Clemson on Tuesday evening.
• Justin H. Williams, TheWolfpacker.com — Losing the second half has become costly for NC State
NC State would be 8-0 this morning if college basketball games were decided in the first half.
The Wolfpack has already proven it has the ability to beat, and even dominate, nationally ranked opponents for a majority of games and has yet to trail at halftime this season.
However, the Pack has now been outscored in the second half in four of its last five contests, two of which resulted in losses. In those four games, its opponents have outscored the Pack by 35 points combined in the final 20 minutes of regulation, an average margin of 8.75 points.
To be fair, the two losses both came on the road against ranked opponents with experienced rosters in No. 19 Clemson (74-70 OT) and No. 23 Saint Louis (80-68).
NC State has been shorthanded, too. The Wolfpack has only had its roster at full strength for six minutes since Dec. 3.
But, in a season in which the conference is as up for grabs as it's been since the turn of the millennium, the Pack has to find ways to close games if it wants to take advantage of what has been a rare opportunity since 1989: competing for an ACC title.
• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Quick hits from NC State's loss at No. 18 Clemson
NC State did not trail in regulation Tuesday after it went into the first media timeout of the game down 8-7 with 15:46 on the first half clock. Sixteen seconds later, fifth-year senior Wolfpack guard Devon Daniels made a three-pointer. Clemson tied it three times after that in the first half, but NC State broke the last one on a three from freshman guard Shakeel Moore to give the Pack a 23-20 edge with 7:56 left in the first half
NC State did not trail and was not tied again until Honor's three with 38.6 seconds left. Overall, the Wolfpack led for 34:07 in regulation and 35:14 for the game.
That's nothing new. NC State led for 37:48 out of 40 minutes in its 79-76 home win over UNC on Dec. 22 and for 36:40 in its 79-76 home win over Boston College on Dec. 30.
The final four-point margin in the loss is the most it has trailed in an ACC game this year.
With 4:34 remaining in the second half, NC State had a six-point lead in its first conference road game of the season in Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (6-2, 2-1 ACC) led No. 19 Clemson (9-1, 3-1 ACC) for almost 35 minutes of regulation, but cold shooting and a handful of fatal turnovers down the stretch cost the Pack the opportunity to advance to 3-0 in ACC play for the first time in eight years.
The Tigers finished the final four minutes of the second half on a 9-3 run and had an opportunity to win the game with the final possession before a block by freshman guard Shakeel Moore forced overtime. Clemson went on to outscore the Pack 12-8 in overtime and won 74-70.
Head coach Kevin Keatts, who dropped to 0-3 in Littlejohn Coliseum, saw more reason for positivity than anything Tuesday night but admitted the need for improvement in closing out games.
“Too many mistakes towards the end of the game,” Keatts said. “We didn't win the game simply because we made mistakes down the stretch. Too many turnovers, too many defensive breakdowns, too many young guys making mistakes, and our older guys did too, so I'm not pinpointing anybody.
“If it's one of those games that we're going to lose, we have to get better from that, we've got to learn from that. Every game that we play in the ACC is going to be a possession game. I thought we did a tremendous job finishing the Carolina game. Same thing with Boston College. Tonight I thought we fell apart at the end because we had too many guys making mistakes. I needed our veteran guys to step up and take control of the game, and, obviously, they were a part of it also.”
In its first two conference wins, one over North Carolina, another over Boston College, N.C. State did its best to try to give away those games late.
Somehow, though, the Wolfpack in both of those home games managed to win each time, with identical scores of 79-76. On the road for the first time in ACC play, the Wolfpack finally had an opponent happy to take what N.C. State gave away.
No. 19 Clemson on Tuesday did what the Tar Heels and Eagles didn’t — made the Wolfpack pay for late-game carelessness.
The Wolfpack (6-2, 2-1 ACC) led Clemson (9-1, 3-1) by seven with 6:27 remaining in the second half. The Tigers outscored N.C. State 12-5 to end regulation and 12-8 in overtime, for a 74-70 win.
The Wolfpack’s carelessness with the basketball (three turnovers) and missing in action offense (no field goals in final 7:38 of regulation) are ultimately what did the team in. The same mistakes that were masked in narrow wins over UNC and Boston College were detrimental on the road.
• Pete Iacobelli, Associated Press — Simms, Honor lift No. 19 Clemson to 74-70 win over NC State
Clemson coach Brad Brownell wasn't sure what he was watching in the first half as the 19th-ranked Tigers looked destined for another quick fall from the national rankings.
Then Aamir Simms hit a go-ahead basket for a second straight game and Clemson rallied from nine-points down in the second half to beat North Carolina State 74-70 in overtime Tuesday night.
"Thankfully, our guys woke up," Brownell said, "and responded the way good teams do."
Maybe it's time to see how good Clemson (9-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) can be in a power league where none of the usual powers have yet emerged.
Nick Honor, a high-scoring Fordham transfer, had 21 points off five 3-pointers, including one that tied things at 62 in the final minute of regulation.
It was Honor's highest point total since joining Clemson after sitting out last season.
"Whoever needs to step up, can," Honor said.
• Joe Giglio, WRALSportsFan — Aamir Simms sends NC State home with first ACC loss
Aamir Simms loves to play against Triangle teams.
The senior forward scored half of his points in overtime to lead No. 19 Clemson to a 74-70 home win over NC State on Tuesday night.
Simms came up with a key steal late in regulation and then scored four of his eight points in overtime for the Tigers (9-1, 3-1 ACC).
NC State (6-2, 2-1) has lost four straight at Clemson and nine of its past 11 trips to Littlejohn Coliseum. The Wolfpack went nearly the final 8 minutes of regulation without a field goal.
"We didn’t win the game simply because we made mistakes down the stretch," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "We have to learn from that."
Clutch buckets were there for NC State against North Carolina and Boston College, but the Wolfpack could not find a basket when it needed it most Tuesday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.
“We didn’t win the game simply because we made too many mistakes down the stretch,” said NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. “...If it's one of those games that were going to lose, then we have to get better from that. We have to learn from that.”
The Wolfpack was led by redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk with 20 points, including a perfect nine-for-nine clip from the charity strike. Redshirt senior guard Devon Daniels registered a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, playing all 45 minutes.
In a matchup where both teams were known for their defense styles, buckets were hard to come by early on. The Wolfpack picked up Clemson (9-1, 3-1 ACC) full court, causing havoc while the Tigers were scrappy in the half court.
On that final possession, Al-Amir Dawes demonstrated that trust by passing to Hall for the game-clincher with time running out.
“I was really proud of Al for throwing him the ball,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “It was the right basketball play. We tried a couple of ball-screen things up top to see if we could shake somebody loose. N.C. State guarded it. The ball was in Al’s hands and he could’ve tried to take a rushed shot or a tough drive, but P.J. was open.
“... I was yelling at him, ‘Hey, back him down and shoot your hook,’ and he did and it went in. Hopefully, he’s going to do that a bunch in his career for us. He’s that kind of player. We put him in late because we trusted him. They had a big lineup and we wanted him to rebound and finish around the basket area. And that’s what he did.”
“That was big time,” said sophomore guard Nick Honor, who led Clemson with 21 points by going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers and 8-for-11 overall. “We’ve seen him do that move a million times. We have full confidence in him making that shot.”
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