Clemson opens ACC Tournament with 75-61 win over NC State

Jaron Blossomgame and Shelton Mitchell poured in 22 points each as Clemson beat NC State 75-61 in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.

After trailing 5-0 early the Tigers took the lead for good with a 10-0 spurt of their own, stretching the advantage to 39-28 with Avry Holmes’ three just before halftime.

Clemson pushed the lead to as many as 17 in the second half and coasted to a 14-point win.

While Blossomgame and Mitchell did the majority of the damage on offense, the Tigers also got a nice lift from Elijah Thomas, who scored 10 points off the bench.

While Sidy Djitte missed some easy shots on his way to a 2-for-9 performance from the field, he pulled down 13 rebounds and was instrumental in keeping several offensive possessions alive with 6 offensive boards.

Clemson held NC State to just 38% from the field and again put the clamps on Wolfpack star Dennis Smith, who had just 7 points on 3-of-12 shooting. The Tigers also forced 15 turnovers.

Abdul-Malik Abu and Maverick Rowan scored 14 points apiece to lead the Pack, but they couldn’t muster enough offense to keep pace with the Tigers.

Clemson will face No. 5 seed Duke at approximately 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after the conclusion of the Miami-Syracuse game.