Moore Of The Same: NC State Wins ACC Opener Again
NC State pulled away in the fourth quarter and outlasted Clemson, 77-59, Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum in the ACC opener for both schools.
The Wolfpack improved to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in ACC play, while the Tigers dropped to 8-4 and 0-1 in the conference.
Clemson used a full-court press to great effect against the undermanned Wolfpack. The Tigers had seven steals in the first half against NC State, who played sans Diamond Johnson and Jada Boyd and only had eight players dressed. After one period, the Tigers led by six and trailed only by three points as the third quarter was nearing completion.
Jakia Brown-Turner hit a three-pointer from the corner as time expired in the third quarter, and NC State's advantage doubled to six. Clemson hit its last field goal with 7:30 remaining in the contest to close the Pack's lead to 64-57. The Tigers would not hit another shot from the field in the contest and did not score at all until a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left in the game.
The Wolfpack has now won 12 straight games versus ACC competition and 18 consecutive conference contests at home. NCSU has won its league opener in each of the last seven campaigns. Wes Moore is now 10-0 versus Clemson as NC State's head coach, and the Pack is 29-7 against the Tigers at home -- with the last home loss to Clemson coming in January of the 2010-2011 season.
STATS: NC State 77, Clemson 59
NC State gets an 11-day break before returning to action at home on Thursday, December 29, against Triangle rival Duke.
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A lifelong native of the Triangle area in North Carolina, Rob McLamb has covered NC State Athletics since 2010, as well as writing about each of the five major sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS) for various newspapers and outlets. As a journalist who has also served as a high school and college coach, McLamb provides an educated, unfiltered, and analytical perspective on the Wolfpack and the ACC.