For the second straight game State played two halves of pretty good basketball. They didn't look quite as good as against Wake, but then Clemson's a much better team especially on defense.
State put together a nice little run, fueled by 6 Javier Gonzalez points, to cut a 9 point deficit down to 2 at the half. They then put together another nice little run mid-way through the second half to go from down 4 to up 4, and kept Clemson at bay from then on. The final was 69-61.
The player of the game was CJ Leslie. He again had an outstanding game, where he displayed a lot of energy and solid shot selection. He had 18 points, 14 in the first half, and 10 rebounds. Leslie came into the game having hit only 3-17 3-pointers. He was 2-3 in this game. Both were good open looks within the rhythm and flow of the offense. He was able to use the fact that jumpers were falling for him to then fake the outside shot and put the ball on the floor for a closer shot.
Tracy Smith had 14 points and 8 rebounds. 12 of his points were in the second half. He carried the load in the second half, while Leslie was more of a second half force on the glass, including some huge offensive rebounds that allowed State to keep burning clock with a 4 point lead or so and less than 4 to play
Javier Gonzalez had 11 points to go along with 3 assists. I think the 11 points may well be a season high for Gonzalez.
Richard Howell added 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall State didn't get a lot of offense from other guys, though guys stepped up at key times. Scott Wood had only 5 points but they came on back to back possessions in the second half when State went its run to take the lead back. CJ Williams also chipped in his 4 points in the same run.
With the win State is now 4-7 in the ACC and 14-10 overall.
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