NEW YORK (AP) — PJ Hall had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Nick Honor scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and No. 10 seed Clemson beat 15th-seeded North Carolina State 70-64 on Tuesday in the opening round of the ACC tournament.
Clemson (17-15) has won five straight games, and will play No. 7 seed Virginia Tech on Wednesday in the second round. The Tigers took down the Hokies 63-59 in the regular-season finale on March 5.
Dereon Seabron made four straight free throws in a little over a minute late in the second half to get N.C. State as close as six points, but Al-Amir Dawes and Chase Hunter answered each trip to the line with 3-pointers to keep Clemson in control.
N.C. State got as close as five points with 1:15 to go, but Hall made two free throws and blocked Seabron’s shot at the other end to seal it.
Dawes added 12 points and Hunter finished with eight points for Clemson.
Seabron led N.C. State (11-21) with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Jericole Hellems added 13 points and Terquavion Smith, averaging 16.5 points per game, missed his first 11 shots, seven from distance, before finishing with seven points.
Seabron scored six straight N.C. State points during a 8-2 run to pull within 39-36 with 12:18 left. But Clemson scored the next eight points, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Honor.
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