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NC State

NC State basketball goes cold in 78-64 loss at Clemson

MattCarterby: Matt Carter12/30/22TheWolfpacker
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NC State-Clemson box score

Sometimes, misery loves company. Not even an hour after the Wolfpack football team could not score a touchdown in a 16-12 loss to Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, the NC State basketball team had their own issues getting scoring points, leading to a 78-64 loss at Clemson.

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At halftime, NC State had made just 7 of 32 shots from the field, or 21.9 percent, including 3 of 14 three-pointers. The second 20 minutes was only marginally better, with the Wolfpack connecting on 14 of 36 field goal attempts (5 of 17 on threes).

Clemson had their own issues on offense, but the Tigers received a career performance from super senior forward Hunter Tyson to give Clemson a working margin that would expand when his supporting cast began to step up. Tyson finished with a personal-best of 31 points and 15 rebounds, making 9 of 13 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 threes.

The Pack got a good shooting performance from senior guard Casey Morsell, who made 5 of 13 shots, including 3 of 8 threes, to finish with 13 points, but the star backcourt of sophomore Terquavion Smith and super senior Jarkel Joiner did not have their best shooting day.

Smith was just 5 of 21 from the field, including 3 of 13 on threes. He finished with a team-high 21 points, largely by making 8 of 10 free throws. Joiner was only 2 of 11 from the field and misfired on all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

The game also saw NC State lose its cool on multiple occasions. Upset with a charge call that resulted in a fourth foul for fifth-year senior post player D.J. Burns Jr., with 17:46 left NC State basketball head coach Kevin Keatts was assessed a technical foul.

The ensuing free throws gave Clemson a double-digit advantage for the first time in the game at 34-24. The Tigers’ lead would largely oscillate between between 7 and 12 points until the Wolfpack made a last run to get within 66-61 with 2:48 remaining following a three-pointer from Morsell.

That’s when the Tigers scored 11 straight, four coming on free throws after Morsell was given a technical foul for throwing Clemson guard Dillon Hunter to the floor after a spirited battle for a loose ball.

The defeat dropped NC State basketball to 11-4 on the season, including 1-3 in the ACC. The game was the start of a tough four-game stretch facing the Wolfpack. NC State hosts Duke on Wednesday before traveling to Virginia Tech on Jan. 7. A week later, the Pack hosts Miami.

All three of those conference rivals are ranked.

Clemson improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

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