Hall, Dawes push Clemson past NC State

PJ Hall scored 20 points, Al-Aamir Dawes added 16, and Clemson outlasted NC State for a 70-65 win in Raleigh on Saturday.

The Wolfpack jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but a 23-7 Clemson run gave the Tigers control of the game. NC State closed the gap to 30-28 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Cam Hayes leading into halftime.

NC State scored the first five points of the second half before an 8-0 run by Clemson put the Tigers back in front. It became a back-and-forth affair from there, with the Tigers eventually pushing their lead to 60-53 with under five minutes to play after three free throws from Alex Hemenway.

Clemson maintained its distance from there, with Nick Honor shaking off a bad night from the field and making four free throws in the final 10 seconds to secure an important road win for the Tigers.

Hall’s 20 points were his high for an ACC contest, and Dawes was an efficient 6 for 10 from the field in one of his best games of the season.

Clemson overcame a 16-turnover performance by shooting 49 percent from the field and holding the Wolfpack to just 32 percent.

David Collins pulled down 11 rebounds for the Tigers, and Chase Hunter provided an offensive spark off the bench with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting.

Dereon Seabron scored 27 points to lead the way for NC State but didn’t get enough help from his teammates to upend the Tigers. The rest of the team was just 10 for 40 from the floor.

Clemson travels to Notre Dame on Wednesday night.