Fueled by underclassmen Abdul-Malik Abu, Maverick Rowan and Caleb Martin, the NC State men’s basketball team earned a much-needed victory Saturday as it topped the Clemson Tigers 77-74 at PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack (14-13, 4-10 ACC) entered Saturday’s game looking for momentum of any kind as it heads into the regular season’s final weeks. The Tigers (16-11, 9-6 ACC) needed a victory to help cement their resume for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson’s defense had no problem getting aggressive early on in the game. Implementing a tough man-to-man defense, the Tigers’ ability to slow the game down was key in the first half.
Junior guard Cat Barber was face guarded for almost the entire game, and it seemed to get to him. Barber missed his first nine shots and struggled in the first half with shot selection. Clemson’s Avry Holmes got to Barber early and often contested almost every shot he took in the first half. Barber recorded his first points of the game on a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left in the first half.
Sophomores Abu and Martin picked up the slack for State in the first half. The two underclassmen provided some much-needed offense for the Pack as the Clemson defense wasn’t allowing much room for error in the half.
“We just came in with the same mentality we always have,” Abu said. “That’s just to try and get as many second-chance buckets as we can.”
The Wolfpack offense had one of its most complete games of the season against the Tigers. State passed the ball extremely well and rebounded on the offensive end of the floor with aggressiveness. Clemson entered Saturday’s game with the 16th-best scoring defense in the country, giving the Pack’s offensive performance more noteworthiness.
“We made a lot of extra passes in the paint and got easy buckets,” Abu said. “Just being unselfish led to highlights, and everybody enjoys those.”
Abu was one rebound short of a double-double in the first half as he grabbed nine rebounds and scored 10 points for State. Martin had a team-high 13 points in the half as he shot 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame led all scorers with 14 points in the first half shooting 6 for 9 from the floor. The Tigers shot 46.9 percent from the floor as a team while the Wolfpack shot 40 percent. Heading into the break, the Wolfpack held a slim lead over the Tigers, 35-34.
Barber’s offensive woes carried over into the second half as he continued to struggle from the floor. But that didn’t doom the Wolfpack as freshman Rowan got hot in the second half. Rowan scored 17 points in the second half to help ignite the Pack’s offense.
“We had a day where Cat really struggled,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We haven’t had very many nights where Cat has struggled like that. I think it says a lot about our team that we were able to generate some offense and play through the fact that Cat wasn’t playing well.”
The Pack and Tigers kept trading buckets throughout the half as neither team jumped out to a commanding lead. Barber made his first field goal of the game at the 5:20 mark of the second half. He started the game 0 for 9 from the floor, surprising for him considering his recent play.
Blossomgame was the only offense Clemson had in the second half. The redshirt junior was one of two players in double figures for the Tigers in the game.
The Tigers made it a close game late as they rallied from an eight-point deficit in the last two minutes to pull within one of the Pack. Despite his offensive struggles, Barber hit several key free throws for the Pack in the waning seconds of the game.
Clemson’s Blossomgame led all scorers with 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Rowan finished with 20 for the Pack, followed closely behind by Martin’s 16. Abu posted another double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Barber finished 1 for 12 from the floor, scoring only eight points.
“We have a lot of guys who can score the ball,” Rowan said. “Sometimes you don’t play as well as you do, like Cat, so other guys had to step up.”
The Wolfpack hosts arch-rival UNC-Chapel Hill Wednesday night at PNC Arena as it attempts to avenge its early season road loss to the Tar Heels.
