RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina State couldn’t afford to worry about style points, not when it expected a defensive struggle against resurgent Clemson on Saturday afternoon.

“I told them before the game, ‘You’re going to have to win every type of game,’ " N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “I knew this was going to be a grind-it-out game.”

Keatts proved prophetic, even though his team surged to an 18-point lead early in the second half before struggling to score for long stretches. Nonetheless, the Wolfpack earned their third win in four Atlantic Coast Conference games, 60-54.