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GREENSBORO — Every time Clemson seemed ready to heat up and make a run Thursday night, something always seemed to get in the way.

Sometimes it was N.C. State guard Farnold Degand stepping into a passing lane for a key steal — one of 11 the Wolfpack made in its 59-57 victory over Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Or Richard Howell getting one of his 11 rebounds to help anchor State's dominant rebounding presence.

Other times the Wolfpack's defense forced the Tigers into bad shots, which helped hold Clemson to a 39 percent field-goal shooting night.

And none of that would be deemed characteristic of the Wolfpack's season, which has been plagued by spotty defensive play.

But N.C. State came up with a gem of a defensive performance Thursday and took advantage of a Clemson team that looked lethargic at some moments and sloppy at others. State's defense was disruptive enough to keep the Tigers from ever finding a rhythm.

"Our bigs were playing tough," said Wolfpack guard Javi Gonzalez. "It was a team effort. Everybody was just playing their hearts out and communicating."

Sure, Trevor Booker got his usual production, with 17 point and eight rebounds. But beyond Clemson's first-team All-ACC forward, the list of underperforming Tigers grew long. Demontez Stitt — Clemson's second-leading scorer, at 11.2 points per game — managed only nine against the Wolfpack. Andre Young, who holds a 9.4-points-per-game average, managed only two on 0-for-6 shooting, while Tanner Smith was held to five points, four below his average.

So it's easy to see why the Tigers scored only 16 points in the final 16 minutes of the first half and became only the fourth ACC opponent to fail to score 60 points against the Wolfpack's defense this season.

"I think we did an excellent job on defense," said Wolfpack forward Tracy Smith. "That's all we've been working on the last couple of days."

It certainly was an improvement over N.C. State's performance during the regular season, when the Wolfpack ranked seventh in scoring defense (65.4 ppg) and 10th in field-goal percentage defense (.422) in the ACC. In fact, the Wolfpack gave up 70 or more points in seven of its 11 league losses, making defense one of the key limiting factors this season.

But after Thursday night, N.C. State hopes its first-round win is the start of something bigger.

Why N.C. State won

The Wolfpack’s usually spotty defense came through against the normally efficient-scoring Tigers. N.C. State held the Tigers to 21 first-half points, forced 15 turnovers, limited Clemson to 39 percent shooting (20-of-51) and held a 34-25 rebounding edge.

Why Clemson lost

The Tigers didn’t get a consistent offensive performance outside All-ACC forward Trevor Booker, who had 17 points and eight rebounds. Demontez Stitt (nine points), Andre Young (two points) and Tanner Smith (five points) — Clemson’s leading scorers behind Booker — each failed to match their regular season scoring average.

Play of the game

N.C. State forward Tracy Smith sealed the win when he pulled down Julius Mays’ missed free throw with 0.2 seconds remaining and the Wolfpack clinging to a two-point lead, ending Clemson’s final hopes of a rally after Demontez Stitt made a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a last glimmer of hope.

The key player

Smith carried N.C. State like he has all year, scoring 19 points and pulling down eight rebounds. But many of Smith’s points helped halt Clemson’s momentum, with 10 of his points answering Tigers baskets.

What they’re saying

“We wanted to control the momentum tonight. Clemson wants you to get out of control. So we just wanted to stay calm and not let their press bother us.” — Dennis Horner, N.C. State forward

“It was hurting. At first I didn’t think I was going to come back. I knew my team needed me, so I had to come back.” — Javier Gonzalez, N.C. State guard on his sprained right ankle

Noting the game

N.C. State’s win ended a five-game losing streak to Clemson. It was the Tigers’ longest winning streak against an ACC team since holding a six-game streak against the Wolfpack from 1992-95. ... Gonzalez injured his right ankle four minutes into the game while driving against Clemson’s full-court press. Gonzalez planted, immediately pulled up hobbling and was helped out of the arena. He returned later in the half and finished with two points. ... The 21 points Clemson scored in the first half were the second fewest N.C. State had allowed against an ACC opponent this season. The Wolfpack held Wake Forest to 18 points on Feb. 20. ... Richard Howell’s 11 rebounds marked his second double-digit rebounding game against the Tigers this season.

N.C. STATE (18-14) — Gonzalez 1-6 0-0 2, Degand 2-3 4-6 9, Wood 2-2 0-0 6, T.Smith 9-15 1-2 19, Horner 1-6 0-0 2, Howell 4-4 1-2 9, Vandenberg 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 2-3 4-4 8, Mays 2-5 0-1 4, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 10-15 59.

CLEMSON (21-10) — Stitt 4-9 0-1 9, Smith 1-4 2-2 5, Potter 1-6 2-3 4, T.Booker 7-11 2-8 17, Grant 2-4 2-2 6, Johnson 4-6 0-0 12, Young 0-6 2-2 2, Jennings 0-0 0-0 0, D.Booker 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 10-18 57.

N.C. State 25 34 — 59
Clemson 21 36 — 57

Percentages—N.C. State (FG .523, FT .667), Clemson (FG .392, FT .556).

3-point goals—N.C. State 3-11 (Wood 2-2, Degand 1-2, Williams 0-1, Horner 0-3, Gonzalez 0-3), Clemson 7-19 (Johnson 4-5, T.Booker 1-2, Stitt 1-2, Smith 1-2, Young 0-4, Potter 0-4).

Fouled out—T.Booker.

Rebounds—N.C. State 34 (Howell 11), Clemson 25 (T.Booker 8).

Assists—N.C. State 8 (Degand, Williams 2), Clemson 9 (Young 3).

Blocked shots—N.C. State 3 (Degand, T.Smith, Horner), Clemson 2 (Smith, Grant).

Turnovers—N.C. State 19 (Gonzalez 4, Williams 3, Howell 3, T.Smith 3), Clemson 15 (T.Booker 5, Smith 2, Young 2, Stitt 2, Johnson 2).

Steals—N.C. State 11 (Degand 3, T.Smith 3), Clemson 10 (Potter 3, Young 2, Stitt 2).

Total fouls—N.C. State 15, Clemson 15.

A—23,381.

Officials—Les Jones, Gary Maxwell, Tim Nestor.