NC State Tops Clemson In The Second Round Of The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament To Advance To The Quarterfinals
In their only regular season matchup in Raleigh it was Braxton Beverly who sent NC State past Clemson. This time around in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament it was Markell Johnson who helped NC State top Clemson.
– The eight-seed NC State men's basketball team defeated nine-seed Clemson Wednesday afternoon, 59-58, to advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
NC State improves to 22-10 on the season, and Clemson drops to 19-14. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
The Pack posted the second-largest halftime deficit comeback (16 points) in ACC Tournament history as it outscored Clemson 33-16 in the second half to win, holding the Tigers to just 19 percent shooting from the field. NC State held Clemson to just one made three-pointer in the second half after the Tigers knocked down eight shots from behind the arc in the first half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
Junior guard Markell Johnson made two clutch free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to give NC State the win. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
Johnson led all scorers with 23 points and four assists and was the only Pack player to tally double figures. Torin Dorn grabbed 12 rebounds, the guard's seventh double-digit rebounding effort of the season. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
Trailing by as many as 18 in the contest, NC State would reclaim the lead at the 5:38 mark in the second half following a 20-2 run. Johnson rattled off eight straight points over the course of the run to put NC State ahead for the first time since its first basket at the 19:22 mark in the opening half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
NC State converted three consecutive turnovers into five points during the run to cut the Pack's deficit to four heading into the 12-minute media timeout. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
In a game filled with runs, NC State continued to inch back within striking distance as it pulled within 12 on five occasions in the second half before getting over the hump. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/3/13/mens-basketball-second-half-surge-leads-pack-past-clemson.aspx
With NC State advancing they will next take on the No. 1 seed Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and Raycom.