Revenge is a dish best served hot, and the NC State men’s basketball team did exactly that, enacting its revenge on Clemson by way of a 60-54 win Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.
Behind double-digit scoring performances from four of its five starters, the Wolfpack (13-5, 4-3 ACC) was able to end the Tigers’ (9-8, 3-4 ACC) reign of terror against North Carolina schools. Entering Saturday’s game, Clemson was on a three-game win streak that began against the Wolfpack on Jan. 4 and included wins over UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke.
“I thought our guys did a good job in this game,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “I told them before the game that you’re going to have to win every type of game … I didn’t think it would be a game where we would score 75, 80 points. I thought it would be 50-60 points.”
The top performer on both sides of the ball was redshirt junior forward D.J. Funderburk, who had his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, as well as having his hands full with the bane of Tobacco Road, Aamir Simms, who entered the game having scored 62 points in three games against Tobacco Road schools this season.
“I knew I could get the double-double,” Funderburk said. “I had like four points, five rebounds at the time. So when I saw five rebounds, my eyes lit up like okay, keep rebounding and the points will come later … and they did. They fell for me, and I was just playing aggressive, just trying to help out with my team.”
Simms managed to equal his output from the Wolfpack and Tigers’ first meeting with 17 points, but after scoring 12 in the opening eight minutes of the game, Simms was held to just five for the final 32 minutes.
“I know when [Simms] went left, he wants to spin back right,” Funderburk said. “When he goes right, he’s trying to go up strong. He’s a pretty strong dude. I just tried to stay in between him and the basket and guard him as well as I could.”
Funderburk’s defensive performance is even more impressive, as he had to defend Simms nearly singlehandedly once redshirt freshman center Manny Bates left the game after taking a shot to the neck. Graduate forward Pat Andree also went down injured and left the game late, adding to the Wolfpack’s recent injury woes.
The game started well for the Pack, as it scored the first five points of the contest. Despite the quick start, the Wolfpack found itself trailing by seven early in the first half. From there, however, the Wolfpack battled back, going on a 13-2 run. During the run, the Wolfpack took the lead back at the 8:30 mark and never looked back, ending the half with a 36-24 lead.
The Tigers came out of the break firing, scoring the first five points of the second half, but the post-halftime energy did not last long, as the Wolfpack went on a rapid 11-0 run and extended the lead to 18 — its largest of the day.
The game was far from over at that point, however, with the Tigers clawing the lead back to just eight points by the eight-minute mark in the second half. During that stretch, the Wolfpack shot 1 for 11 from the field, with Funderburk grabbing the Pack’s lone basket.
The Wolfpack and Tigers continued to trade runs for the remainder of the second half, and after the Tigers put together a 7-0 run with just under 90 seconds left in the game, visions of all the blown leads in recent years started to flash before the eyes of NC State fans.
With the momentum leaning heavily in Clemson’s favor, junior guard Braxton Beverly drilled a dagger 3-pointer to put the game well and truly away. In true Beverly-versus-Clemson fashion, it was his only made 3 of the day.
The Wolfpack will be back in action Monday as it travels up to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on defending national champions the Virginia Cavaliers at 7 p.m. Be sure to follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
“We have a short, short turnaround, and [Virginia is] good,” Keatts said. “They do a good job defensively. They’ve always been one of the best defensive teams in the country for a long, long time.”
Senior Markell Johnson goes for a layup in the game against Clemson on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 at PNC Arena. Johnson scored 13 points against Clemson and helped in the Wolfpack Win. NCSU beat Clemson 60-54.
