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It wasn't exactly a must-win situation. Not with more than half the ACC schedule still to be played.

It only felt that way for the NC State basketball team, as it closed out a pivotal two-game homestand against Clemson on Saturday.

Off to an injury-plagued 2-3 start in the conference, with all its schoarship players finally healthy and available, the Wolfpack needed to start gaining some momentum and confidence heading into the most difficult stretch of its season.

And that's what it did.

Building on a win against Miami on Wednesday, State avenged a loss to the Tigers two weeks earlier with a 60-54 victory at PNC Arena highlighted by D.J. Funderburk's first career double-double.

In the process, the Wolfpack regained a measure of pride for the Triangle by ending a streak that saw Clemson beat the Wolfpack, North Carolina and Duke in consecutive games. 

Not that coach Kevin Keatts is concerned about anyone other than his team.

"I wouldn't go to the point where I'd say we had to have them, but we needed to," Keatts said of the two wins this week. "You want to take care of home court advantage when it’s possible and this is a tight race. 

"But this is a long season. This is a marathon and you know it’s gonna be ups and downs and trials and tribulations throughout the whole season and we've just got to figure out how to win games both (at home and on the road).”

Saturday's win catapulted the Wolfpack (13-5 overall, 4-3 ACC) into a tie for fourth in the conference standings. 

More important in the eyes of its coach, however, is the growth the team showed since its previous encounter with the Tigers.

State did a much better job of defending the 3-point line than it did 14 days earlier, when Clemson made eight first half treys on its building an early double digit lead. It also made adjustments that prevented the Tigers' guards from getting to the rim off slip screens while winning the battle of the glass.

The Tigers (9-8, 3-4) made only one of its first seven 3-point attempts in the rematch hitting only 25 percent (5 of 20) for the game. Point guard Al-Amir Dawes, who hit for 16 points in the first meeting, was shut out this time.

And while Aamir Simms had another big game, 10 of his 18 points came in the first 6 1/2 minutes during an 11-0 Tiger run.

That early spurt was reminicent of the one Clemson used to put State into an early double-digit hole two weeks ago. This time the Wolfpack answered right back, turning up the defensive pressure and taking control by outscoring the Tigers 28-9 over the final 11:02.

"We played more as a team tonight offensively and defensively, getting to those gaps, getting extra stabs at the ball, talking on ball screens, just bringing a lot of energy," said redshirt senior wing C.J. Bryce. "That helped out for us."

Bryce's presence on the court is another factor that helped the Wolfpack flip the script from the loss at Clemson.

The team's leading scorer and rebounder missed the game while recovering from a concussion. Saturday, just a few days removed from a four-game absence, Bryce was on the floor for all 40 minutes -- finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

He was one of four State players to score in double figures. Funderburk, Devon Daniels and Markell Johnson were the others, with each contributing 13 points. Funderburk also brought down 11 rebounds to reach an elusive career milestone.

"I was playing aggressive, just trying to help my team and they just fell for me," Funderburk said. "I've been close (to a double-double) before, but I never had one. I was just happy to get it."

The Wolfpack needed a big performance out of Funderburk after the team's other big man, freshman Manny Bates, was knocked out of the game after just six minutes when he took a shot to the back of the neck while trying to prevent Simms from scoring.

Bates wasn't the only Wolfpack player to suffer an injury Saturday. Forward Pat Andree was also sidelined when he turned an ankle while battling for a rebound late in the game. X-rays were negative, but he left PNC Arena on crutches while wearing a walking boot, putting in doubt his availability for Monday's quick turnaround game at Virginia.

"We're a couple down right now, but we have a next man up mentality,"  Bryce said. "We have to play the game no matter what and we're looking forward to winning."

That gritty attitude served the Wolfpack well Saturday after Clemson battled back from a 15-point deficit to close to within 56-50 with 1:21 remaining. 

The comeback was reminiscent of the one the Tigers used to send its game against UNC into overtime last week. But with most of State's key players in foul trouble and time winding down on the shot clock, Braxton Beverly -- whose 3-pointer at the buzzer beat Clemson a year ago -- hit another long-range dagger to end the comeback and put the game away.

I thought our guys did a good job today," Keatts said. "I told them before the game that we are going to have to win a lot of different types of games. It was going to be a game where we would have to grind it out.

"I also wanted to use this game to see how much we had improved over the past 14 days. Last time we played Clemson we gave up too many threes and they slipped a lot of plays and got easy layups. To our guys’ credit, we made some adjustments and did a great job listening to scouting reports. 

"We took away the things that they beat us with last time and improved upon those. I think we have played our best defensive games over the last 2 games and I want us to continue to build on that.”