Would it be an N.C. State conference game if it didn’t come down to the wire?
Apparently not this year.
The Wolfpack won each of their previous two league games by a combined six points. Playing their first conference road game of the season and first game of 2021, things wouldn’t be any different. Clemson battled back from a seven-point deficit in regulation, and won it overtime, 74-70.
With one minute to play and a three-point advantage, N.C. State (6-2, 2-1) went back to D.J. Funderburk, who missed from the wing. Nick Honor, who started the game 6 for 6 from the floor, nailed a 3 from the wing, tying the game at 62 with 38 seconds left. Honor didn’t miss his first shot until the 13:20 mark of the second half.
Devon Daniels turned the ball over with the game tied, giving the ball back to Clemson with 12.7 remaining. Honor tried to go one-on-one with Shakeel Moore, but the Wolfpack freshman blocked Honor’s shot attempt at the horn, setting up overtime.
State went the final eight minutes of regulation and the first minute of overtime without a field goal. Clemson (9-1, 3-1) took its first lead since early in the first half on its first bucket of OT, but it wouldn’t last long as Funderburk put the Pack back in front by one, 67-66, with a 3, his first of the season. Amir Simms, who was held in check most of the first half, scored back-to-back baskets in overtime to extend the Clemson lead to three. Simms went scoreless in the first half. Honor, the 5-10 guard, took it over from there.
Honor scored in the paint, while drawing the foul, with 50.5 remaining. Honor missed the free throw and Daniels, who turned the ball over on consecutive trips, had a chance to redeem himself. Daniels, a 68% free throw shooter, hit two to make it a 72-70 advantage. The Wolfpack played defense through the shot clock instead of fouling and Tigers freshman P.J. Hall scored over Manny Bates, the top shot blocker in the league, with 10 seconds remaining.
Cam Hayes turned the ball over for N.C. State while the Pack held a slim three-point lead in regular and Simms, Clemson’s leading scorer, had a three that would have tied it rim out. Simms would make up for it, hitting two free throws, making it a one-point game, 60-59. The Wolfpack found themselves in the midst of a nearly six minute drought without a field goal.
Two of the top defenses in the ACC squared off and outside from some offensive spurts, it was the defensive battle fans expected. Fortunately, for Pack fans, N.C. State turned it up on the defensive end when it counted the most. With less than six minutes remaining, the Wolfpack kept Clemson off the board for 3:17 minutes, just long enough to get some breathing room. The Tigers got a long three from Alex Hemenway, his first basket of the night, to make it 57-53.
Funderburk, who didn’t score his first bucket until one minute remained in the first half, hit two from the line to push the lead back to six with four and a half minutes remaining. Funderburk came off the bench and finished the game with 20 points, his fifth game in double figures.
Funderburk picked up the scoring slack late, taking the lead responsibility off of Daniels and Jericole Hellems, who got off to hot starts, a welcomed sign for N.C. State. The duo scored 10 of the first 12 points and 18 of the first 32. Once they finally started getting help offensively, it allowed the Wolfpack to carry a seven-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
That margin felt larger than what it was considering how evenly played the first half was. The game was tied four times and after State jumped out to an eight point lead, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to pull to within two, 34-32, with 2:47 remaining. After three straight turnovers, the Wolfpack went on its own 6-0 run to close the half, highlighted by an old-fashioned three-point play from Funderburk, his first basket of the opening half. Funderburk added a dunk, off a nice assist from Moore, at the buzzer.
Moore, like he’s been the previous two games, was a spark off the bench, scoring six points in the first half.
However, Hellems went scoreless in the second half and fouled out with 4:14 remaining in the game.
The Wolfpack were gunning for a ninth win over a ranked opponent under Kevin Keatts. State was also looking for its first 3-0 start in league play since the 2012-13 season.
