Opening ACC play without suspended starting point guard Markell Johnson was tough enough for N.C. State on Saturday.
When big men sophomore center Omer Yurtseven and senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu got into foul trouble, it was too much for the Wolfpack to overcome in coach Kevin Keatts’ first league game as N.C. State’s coach.
Clemson built a nine-point halftime lead and pulled away from the cold-shooting Wolfpack in the second half to beat N.C. State 78-62 at Littlejohn Coliseum.
N.C. State (10-4, 0-1 ACC) played its fourth consecutive game without Johnson, the sophomore from Cleveland who was suspended Dec.