DJ Horne lifts NC State basketball past Clemson. 3 takeaways from Pack’s big road win

N.C. State finally has the big signature victory it has badly needed this season.

The Wolfpack took a 78-77 win over Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on D.J. Horne’s floater from the lane with 9.8 seconds left Saturday.

After the Pack stopped a final Clemson drive, Ben Middlebrooks grabbed the loose ball and sailed it high over the court as the final seconds ticked off.

Horne again led the Pack (16-9, 8-6) with 25 points. D.J. Burns had 14.

Joseph Girard III, never hesitant to shoot, had 23 points and P.J. Hall 18 for the Tigers (17-8, 7-7 ACC).

The Wolfpack, which doggedly stayed in the fight, had the ball for the last shot after forcing a Clemson turnover with 25 seconds left in regulation. The Tigers had a 77-76 lead and needed one last defensive stop.

The final minutes were stressful for both teams.

Horne rimmed out a 3-point shot with 4:45 left that would have tied the score, but then scored on a backdoor cut to pull State within 69-68 off a Burns pass.

Hall, fouled by Middlebrooks, had a pair of free throws for the Tigers but Horne answered with a 3-pointer with 3:35 remaining to tie it 71-71.

Again Hall went to the line. Again he hit two to give the Tigers the lead. Again Horne answered, with two foul shots.

After a Jaylen Taylor turnover, Jack Clark scored against his former team as Mohamed Diarra was called for goaltending. After a Clemson turnover, Taylor missed a fast-break layup, the ball rolling off the rim and out.

Girard knocked down a jumper and it was 77-73 Clemson with a minute to play. But the Pack kept pushing, Diarra’s free throw making it 77-76.

Tigers expected to win

Clemson was working on a three-game win streak, including the big one at North Carolina, and most of the sellout crowd at Littlejohn surely rolled Saturday expecting a fourth. The Tigers smacked the Pack all three times they played last season — 80-54 in the ACC Tournament — and had beaten State the last five times at Littlejohn.

But the Wolfpack hardly seemed fazed. The Pack played its game the first half, hustling on defense to prevent any big Clemson runs as Casey Morsell stayed close to Girard, who can go off at any time. Hall had eight points in the half but Ian Schieffelin did not score.

That quickly turned. At the first TV timeout of the second half, the Tigers had a 51-43 lead, making six of their first nine shots of the period.

The Pack has needed wins and will go home for two games to back up the upset at Clemson — against Syracuse and Boston College.

Now No. 82 in the NET ranking used by the NCAA selection committee, it might be too late for the Wolfpack to reach the NCAA Tournament, barring an ACC tournament title.

Close losses can wear out a team, physically and mentally. The Pack absorbed a body punch at Wake Forest but landed one Saturday,

In close games, a few careless turnovers or rushed shots can be the difference. But not always.

See-saw game

The Wolfpack, keeping its composure against a team that pounded it three times last season, had a 10-point lead late in the first half and led 39-35 at the break.

But Girard and Chase Hunter both hit 3-pointers and the Clemson spurt continued after halftime as the Tigers had a 20-2 run.

The Pack, after falling behind by 11, had enough productive possessions — albeit with a few bad turnovers — to pull within 65-62. But Hall scored inside over Diarra to ease the tension for Clemson, and moments later hit a pair of free throws for a 69-62 lead.

Horne needs help, got some

The Pack often is too one-dimensional on offense. If Horne is hitting, things are OK. If not, there are problems and they don’t go away.

The Wolfpack began the game by running its offense through Burns, who backed in and hit his first two shots, causing a defensive change by the Tigers. But the big man can only handle so many minutes and it’s not a, say, 30-minute defensive problem for the other team.

Horne hit three times from the 3-point line in the first half, including a “logo 3” that Iowa’s Caitlin Clark would have admired.

But Horne can’t carry this team. Even when he has 31 points, as he did at Wake Forest, it wasn’t enough to carry the Pack to a win.

The offense is stagnant at times, as four players stand and watch the guy with the ball. The Pack could use more movement.