Chase Hunter scored 20 points for the seventh time this season as Clemson defeated N.C. State 68-58 on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh at the Lenovo Center to match the school record for best start in ACC play.
At 10-1 in the ACC, Clemson matched the 2022-23 team. The Tigers, 18-4 overall, are on a six-game winning streak. Clemson, which hadn’t played in a week avenged a one-point home loss from last season. Two free throws by Chauncey Wiggins who had 11 points, to give the Tigers their first 10-point lead of the game, 59-49 with five minutes left. When Hunter stole a pass and made a one-handed dunk, the Tigers went up 11 with just over three minutes to go. Hunter followed with a jumper to make it 66-53. He and younger brother Dillon Hunter sparked a 7-0 Clemson run in less than a minute. The duo scored the team’s final nine points.
Viktor Lakhin had 13 points with 11 rebounds and he surpassed 1,000 career points and recorded his fourth double-double of the season. He also tallied two blocks, two steals and an assist in a strong all-around effort.
For NC State (9-12, 2-8) Dontrez Styles who averages 9.5 points per game scored a season-high 24 points with a career-high six 3-pointers in eight attempts. Styles shot 9-for-14 from the field. Other than Styles, the Wolfpack were 3-for-14 on 3-point attempts. Styles made two 3-pointers to keep the Wolfpack in it at 55-49 by the five-minute mark. He was lethal from beyond the arc, knocking down 6-of-8 three-pointers while adding five rebounds in 33 minutes on the floor. NC State attempted six free throws in the game. The Wolfpack shot 14-for-38 on 2-point attempts against an aggressive Clemson defense.
There were nine lead changes in the first half with each team having a largest lead of five points. Clemson took the final lead of the half when Lakhin and Jaeden Zackery both scored in the paint and Lakhin followed up with a tip-in for a 34-29 lead. The Tigers led 34-31 at halftime. Lakhin pulled in 11 rebounds, but NC State held a 38-28 advantage on the boards. Clemson committed only five turnovers.
Clemson poured it on with a strong finishing stretch to secure its sixth consecutive victory. The Tigers, who shot 48.1 percent from the field, overcame a scoring drought of more than seven minutes during the first part of the second half.
Both teams had extended scoring droughts in the second half. NC State led with less than 14 minutes to play until Ian Schieffelin’s tip-in halted Clemson’s rough stretch. Chase Hunter notched six points in a two-minute stretch as the Tigers surged to a 48-41 lead.
N.C. State, which has lost six in a row and eight of nine, travels to California to play Cal on Wednesday and Clemson open up a three game homestand when it hosts Georgia Tech on Tuesday and then #2 Duke on Saturday.
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