Clemson gets past NC State, advances in ACC Tournament

Clemson sophomore PJ Hall certainly looked like an All-ACC level performer Tuesday evening against NC State.

The sophomore scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 70-64 win over the Wolfpack at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The performance came a day after Hall was not named to an All-ACC team and finished second in the Most Improved Player voting.

The win is Clemson’s fifth straight as the Tigers advance to face No. 7 seed Virginia Tech on Wednesday — a team Clemson beat on Saturday.

“A good win for our team. I’m proud of how we defended. I thought we guarded exceptionally well today,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “Our guys just kind of hung in there. … Happy for our team. We’ve really hung in there this year. Couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

Dereon Seabron, who was named the league’s most improved player, led all scorers with 19 points but was 5-for-16 from the field.

Clemson led 29-24 at halftime and pushed its lead to 11 at one point in the second half before the Wolfpack battled back.

NC State cut the lead to 3 midway through the second half before Hall knocked down a jumper and Nick Honor hit back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the lead back to double digits.

“A huge momentum swing for us,” Brownell said. “They had made a run and taken momentum from us. [Hall and Honor] made huge plays. This is a game where players have gotta make plays. Both of Nick’s shots were a guy making big-time shots.”

Clemson made enough free throws down the stretch to finish off the win and advance.

Honor finished with 13 points, including the two 3-pointers. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.

The Tigers won despite shooting only 6 of 23 from 3-point range. Clemson held NC State to 35 percent shooting, including 17 percent from 3-point range.