No. 18 Clemson falls to N.C. State 80-76 in overtime
CLEMSON — Clemson has made a habit of forcing opponents to play its game inside Littlejohn Coliseum. Tuesday night, an old Clemson insider turned that idea back on the Tigers.
Will Wade and N.C. State (13-6, 4-2) used overtime to do it, handing No. 18 Clemson an 80-76 loss and snapping the Tigers’ unbeaten run in ACC play.
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Wade didn’t walk into Littlejohn trying to out-Clemson Clemson. He sped the game up just enough to create discomfort, borrowed pieces of the Tigers’ own formula, forcing Clemson into a night spent reacting instead of dictating.
That tension lingered into the final possession of regulation.
With the game tied at 69 and Littlejohn on its feet, Dillon Hunter’s running halfcourt attempt at the horn caught glass but never threatened the net.
It was a fitting snapshot of the night – close, chaotic and just off – and it sent Clemson (16-4, 6-1 ACC) into an overtime it never fully seized.
Overtime exposed what regulation had hinted at all along – one of the tradeoffs Clemson has lived with this season.
The Tigers don’t have a single, defined closer. There is no go-to scorer they can isolate, simplify the floor for and trust to manufacture a basket when everything tightens.
Instead, Clemson has won by committee, spreading responsibility across lineups and leaning on execution more than individual creation.
In the extra period, that approach showed its limits.
Clemson managed just two field goals in five minutes, missed all three of its attempts from beyond the arc and left critical points at the free-throw line.
Possessions felt collective rather than decisive, generating looks but not always the kind that bend a defense or force rotations. Without a clear late-game focal point, N.C. State was able to guard the entire floor without overcommitting to any one threat.
Misses by RJ Godfrey and Butta Johnson at the line proved costly as the Wolfpack calmly converted on the other end.
Free throws ultimately separated the teams. N.C. State lived at the stripe, finishing 22-of-25, while Clemson went 15-of-24, a margin far too large to overcome in a game decided possession by possession.
Despite that, for much of the second half, Clemson never went away.
The Tigers trailed by no more than seven, constantly hanging within reach without delivering the knockout blow.
Godfrey’s and-one with 1:12 remaining gave Clemson its first lead since the 11:30 mark of the half, but his missed free throw on the ensuing opportunity left the door open. N.C. State tied the game on its next trip.
That thin margin existed in part because Ven-Allen Lubin controlled the interior.
Despite playing smaller lineups, N.C. State matched, and often exceeded, Clemson’s physicality in the paint.
Lubin finished with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, carving out space and challenging a Clemson frontcourt more accustomed to being the aggressor. Officials allowed contact on both ends, and the Wolfpack took advantage.
Godfrey found a rhythm late, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds, but struggled to find opportunities to fuel Clemson’s offense in overtime.
Carter Welling took advantage of his size down low, finishing with 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting while going 8-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Ace Buckner kept Clemson afloat when the guards struggled to find rhythm, letting the game come to him and attacking space. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Jestin Porter, Hunter and Johnson finished with nine, seven and seven points respectively.
Mistakes amplified the issue early.
Clemson committed eight first-half turnovers, several clustered during a stretch when a 21-21 tie turned into a double-digit N.C. State lead.
The Wolfpack knocked down six first-half threes, and Clemson drifted away from paint touches into rushed possessions, allowing the game to be played on N.C. State’s terms.
N.C. State finished with 19 points off 13 Clemson turnovers. Clemson managed just six points off seven Wolfpack turnovers.
Wade’s familiarity with Littlejohn hovered quietly in the background. A former student manager and graduate assistant at Clemson, he knows how games typically unfold in this building.
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A year after his McNeese team ended Clemson’s NCAA Tournament run, his Wolfpack made this one uncomfortable from start to finish.
Clemson finished the night shooting 26-of-58 (44.8%) from the field and 9-of-28 from three. N.C. State shot 25-of-57 (43.9%) and 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.
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Clemson will look to reset Saturday with a road trip to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech at noon on ACC Network.
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