When Clemson needed a spark late, the Hunter brothers delivered.
With the Tigers clinging to a six-point lead coming out of the under-four media timeout, Dillon Hunter drilled a clutch three-pointer.
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Moments later, Chase Hunter picked off a pass and sprinted coast to coast to throw down a one handed slam. He followed it up with a mid-range jumper, and just like that, Clemson had its largest lead of the day at 66-53 with 2:28 to play.
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The Wolfpack (9-12, 2-8) never recovered as the Tigers (18-4) closed out a 68-58 win Saturday afternoon at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., improving to 10-1 in ACC play—their best start since 2023—while extending their win streak to six games.
NC State stayed in the game as long as it did thanks to Dontrez Styles, who had a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was lethal from beyond the arc, knocking down 6-of-8 three-pointers while adding five rebounds in 33 minutes on the floor.
Clemson opened the second half strong and quickly pushed its lead to 38-31 in the first minute.
Then the offense went ice cold.
A brutal 7-minute, 22-second scoring drought could have been costly, but the Tigers’ defense held firm and allowed just eight points during that stretch.
Down one, Ian Schieffelin finally ended the drought with a putback off an offensive rebound. The Tigers then flipped the momentum completely, ripping off a 13-4 run to take a 51-43 lead with 7:43 left.
Chase Hunter, after dealing with illness at Virginia Tech, delivered a huge bounce-back performance. He led the Tigers with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting and added two rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. His impact on both ends helped Clemson pull away late.
Viktor Lakhin surpassed 1,000 career points with his 13-point effort and recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. He also tallied two blocks, two steals and an assist in a strong all-around effort.
The Tigers dominated the scoring inside, outscoring NC State 36-24 in the paint.
Rebounding, however, was a different story. Despite the Wolfpack’s struggles on the boards this season, they flipped the script on Clemson and outrebounded the Tigers 38-28, including a 13-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Turnovers followed a similar pattern. NC State forced 12 but only managed three points off them. Clemson, despite forcing just five turnovers, capitalized for 13 points.
Schieffelin, still battling back spasms, played 29 minutes and finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a block.
Chauncey Wiggins contributed 11 points, and Clemson remained unbeaten at 11-0 when he scores in double figures.
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Jaeden Zackery had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while adding five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Clemson’s bench, which averages 17 points per game this season, had a quieter night and left much of the workload to the starters.
Dillon Hunter and Del Jones both logged 18 minutes but combined for just nine points. Hunter was efficient, hitting both of his shots for five points while also grabbing three rebounds and a steal.
Jake Heidbreder also recorded a steal in his four minutes on the floor.
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The Tigers finished shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from three-point range, while NC State shot 38.3 percent overall and 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from beyond the arc.
The game saw 11 lead changes.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell is now 15-11 all-time versus the Wolfpack.
The Tigers now turn their attention to a "GRIT After Dark" rematch against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. on the ACC Network.
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