Heartbreak in Littlejohn: Late bucket propels Wolfpack to win over Tigers

Girard scored 23 to lead the Tigers. (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Feb 17 22:14:18 GMT-04:00 2024

CLEMSON – Clemson’s last three losses have all been by one point, and the latest really hurts.

DJ Horne of NC State scored on a driving floater with 9.8 seconds remaining to lift the Wolfpack to a 78-77 victory over Clemson Saturday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. Horne scored 27 to lead all scorers.

With Wake Forest losing to Virginia earlier in the day, the Tigers missed out on a great chance to move into a tie for fourth in the ACC standings (the top four seeds earn two byes in the ACC Tournament), but the loss drops Clemson to 17-8 overall and 7-7 in ACC play. NC State jumps the Tigers and improves to 16-9 overall and 8-6 in league play. Clemson is now a game behind three teams (Pitt, NC State, and Wake) with 8-6 records. The Tigers defeated Pitt, but NC State now owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Joe Girard scored 23 to lead the Tigers, while PJ Hall added 18.

Two Hall 3-pointers allowed the Tigers to jump out to a 12-8 lead, but NC State extended their defense to full court and started hitting from the three. That allowed the Pack to go on a 17-5 run that took the lead 25-17 midway through the first half.

Josh Beadle ended that run when he drove the lane and laid a reverse left-handed layup softly off the glass, and one possession later RJ Godfrey put a spin move on the Pack big man in the lane for a soft shot off the glass. He was fouled and hit the free throw, making it 25-22.

But the Pack continued its physical play, and after Hall picked up his second foul and went to the bench, NC State took its biggest lead of the half at 39-29 with 1:46 remaining in the opening stanza. However, Girard hit a deep three and Chase Hunter followed with a three of his own with ten seconds left, and the Pack held a 39-35 advantage at the break.

State scored the first two points of the second half but then went almost four minutes without a bucket. Meanwhile, the Tigers started to find the range, and when Jack Clark hit an old-fashioned three-point play after a layup, it completed a 14-0 run that saw the Tigers go ahead 49-41.

The Tigers stayed hot, with Girard hitting two 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Godfrey dunk, and the Tigers completed a 30-9 run by taking a 59-48 lead with 11:48 to play. The Pack wouldn’t go away, however, and the Tigers went almost three minutes without scoring as NC State pulled back within five at 65-62 with 7:21 left to play in the contest.

Hall answered that by backing down in the lane and tossing a righthanded shot in for the score. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw, and Clemson led 67-62.

However, Horne went on a scoring spree and the Tigers went on another scoring drought from the field, and Clemson held a slim 75-73 lead when timeout was called with two minutes remaining. Clemson turned it over, but the Pack missed the shot on the other end, and Girard made them pay with a turnaround jumper in the lane that put the Tigers in front 77-73. With 1:01 on the game clock, the Pack called a timeout.

NC State scored quickly to make it 77-75, and Girard turned it over on the other end. As he went for the loose ball, he was smacked in the face by a Pack player, but he was called for the foul. Mohamed Diarra hit the front end of the 1-and-1 to make it 77-76 but missed the second shot. Hall came down with the rebound but was quickly surrounded by two NC State players, who tied him up for the held ball with the possession arrow pointing to NC State with 25.8 remaining.

It was Horne with the final bit of magic, driving the lane for a layup that put NC State up 78-77 with 9.8 seconds left. The Tigers pushed the ball to Hunter, who drove into the lane, but his shot was off the mark, and the Wolfpack escaped with a win.

The Tigers return to the court Wednesday, traveling to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech at 7 pm in McCamish Pavilion. Clemson returns home next Saturday, hosting Florida St. at 7:45 pm.