GREENSBORO, N.C. — GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall each scored 15 points and Clemson pulled away from North Carolina State in the second half to earn an 80-54 victory in a quarterfinal game at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday night.
Clemson (23-9), the No. 3 seed, will face second-seeded Virginia in the second of Friday night’s semifinal match-ups.
NC State got off to a strong start and held a nine-point lead midway through the first half, 20-11. The Tigers roared back to take a 39-36 lead at intermission. Chase Hunter hit three straight jumpers to get Clemson started in the second half and the Tigers outscored the Wolfpack 41-18 over the final 20 minutes.
From the midway point of the first half, Clemson scored two points for every point its defense allowed, outscoring the Wolfpack 69-34.
Hall gave Clemson a double-digit lead with a jumper midway through the second half to take a 57-46 lead. Brevin Galloway and Schieffelin hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Tigers went on a 12-0 run and closed out the game on a 25-8 scoring binge.
Hunter finished with 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Clemson. Hunter Tyson contributed a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds to key the Tigers’ 41-28 dominance on the boards.
D.J. Burns Jr. paced NC State (23-10) with 12 points. Terquavion Smith scored 11 points and Jack Clark and Jarkel Joiner each added 10.