CLEMSON – Second half runs have fueled Clemson at home as of late, and NC State was no exception. The problem was it wasn’t enough, as the Tigers momentum flattened into a 78-77 loss at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday night.

Clemson went on a 32-10 run that spanned from the end of the first half to 10 minutes after halftime. The Wolfpack hung around and won it on a DJ Horne floater with nine seconds remaining, fitting with his dominant outing.

Here’s the 411 as the Tigers’ three-game winning streak came to a close.

–NC State came out firing, going 5 of 11 from behind the arc in the first half and scoring 39 points before the break, Clemson’s defense was reeling, but Brad Brownell’s squad tightened up early in the second half, forcing six turnovers. That didn’t last long, as they had no answer for Horne. The NC State guard was the dagger as he finished with 27 points, including the game-winner.

–This was a matter of who finished the job, and the Tigers didn’t do it. The defense failed, allowing a 49.1 percent clip from the floor and 78 points. A turnover with a chance to make it a two-possession game in the last minute just can’t happen, either.

-Joseph Girard III was aggressive all night. He pushed the ball up the floor the most we’ve seen this season, and it was effective against the high press. His 4-for-7 mark from behind the arc added to his performance. The problem was his first true mistake came on the second-to-last possession, which arguably could have been a foul.

–The Tigers trio of Girard, Chase Hunter and PJ Hall delivered. All three scored in double-digits, which has boded well for Clemson. Their final total of 51 points was the offensive fuel, but the defense couldn’t match.

–Brownell inserted RJ Godfrey to the lineup often, and it paid off. He caused NC State big man DJ Burns a lot of problems on both ends, including an impressive spin-off and-one late in the first half. He forced two fouls on Burns, who went on to foul out and finished with 10 points.

–It looked as if Clemson would go into the half down double digits until Girard and Hunter went back-to-back from behind the arc to make it a 39-35 game at the break. Godfrey’s block at the buzzer was the exclamation point as the Tigers faithful were deafening. The middle 20 minutes were the biggest positive.

–The Clemson-NC State transfer trade had its stamp on this game. Former Tiger Ben Middlebrooks had four points, including an impressive three-point play in the first half, but Clemson’s Jack Clark, who played at NC State, made a larger impact on the game. Clark finished with eight points and seven rebounds. His late steal and bucket in a tie looked like the play of the game, but Middlebrooks got the last laugh in the end.