The men’s basketball team fell 63-51 to No. 12 Clemson in its ACC opener in Clemson, S.C. Saturday. The loss drops the Pack to 9-4, while the Tigers improve to 16-0 – one game away from matching its best start in school history.

State was plagued by poor shooting, particularly in the first half. The Pack only managed to score 17 first half points after shooting 20.7 percent from the field and going 2-7 from three-point range.

Senior Ben McCauley and redshirt junior Brandon Costner were both averaging double-digits in points entering Saturdayís matchup, but the pair was held to just 13 points cumulatively against the aggressive defense of Clemson big men Raymond Sykes and Trevor Booker.

Booker led the tigers with 23 points, 6 blocks and 30 minutes played. Senior small forward Courtney Fells was the Packís leading scorer with 10 points.

Turnovers plagued the Wolfpack throughout the game. State gave up the ball 18 times compared to the Tigers’ nine. The Tigers capitalized on the Pack’s mistakes, scoring 17 points on turnovers while State managed just two points off Clemsonís. The Tigers also beat the Pack down low – Clemson had 30 points in the paint compared to State’s 18.

Guards Trevor Ferguson and Javi Gonzalez returned to the court after being sidelined due to injury, but their presence was mostly ineffectual. Ferguson finished with five points after going 2-9 from the field and 0-4 from the three-point line. Gonzalez played just seven minutes, scoring two points and turning the ball over twice.

The men’s basketball team will face its second conference foe of the season when Florida State comes to the RBC Center Tuesday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.