SAN DIEGO -- Shelton Mitchell scored a season-high 23 points, Gabe DeVoe had 22 and Clemson beat New Mexico State 79-68 on Friday night, closing out a perfect first round for No. 5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

The 5-12 line is usually one of the top spots for March Madness upsets, but Clemson (24-9) shot 56 per cent from the field while advancing out of the first round for the first time since 1997. It was the Tigers' first win in the NCAA tourney since the First Four in 2011.

Clemson was nearly flawless at the offensive end against the 12th-seeded champions of the WAC. It made 9 of 11 shots during one stretch on its way to a 12-point lead at halftime.

It was an impressive showing for the Tigers after they stumbled over the final weeks of the regular season adjusting to the loss of Dante Grantham to a season-ending knee injury. They were just 7-6 after Grantham was injured.

Zach Lofton led New Mexico State (28-6) with 29 points and Jemerrio Jones had 13 points and 14 rebounds, but the Aggies had too many inconsistent stretches while the Tigers were so good at the offensive end.

Marcquise Reed added 15 points as nearly everyone had a good night shooting for Clemson. Mitchell made 8 of 13 shots, while DeVoe hit 10 of 15 attempts. Clemson had not shot better than 50 per cent since shooting 53 per cent against North Carolina State early in ACC play. The Tigers had failed to shoot at least 40 per cent in four games after Grantham was injured -- which made the hot shooting against New Mexico State so surprising.

New Mexico State had one flurry midway through the second half, creating at least some concern for Clemson. Down 64-49, the Aggies went on a 13-4 run, closing to 68-62 on Jones' rebound basket with 5:55 left. Mitchell answered with a 3 late in the shot clock and after a pair of empty trips, Mitchell hit a pair of free throws and added another basket to push the lead back to 13.

BIG PICTURE

New Mexico State: The Aggies were looking for their first tournament win since 1993 -- a victory over Nebraska that was later vacated. The last tournament victory for New Mexico State that counted came in 1970 when the Aggies reached the Final Four.

Clemson: The Tigers shot just 42.5 per cent during ACC play and topped 50 per cent just once against conference foes. But during non-conference play, the Tigers had four games of shooting 55 per cent or better, including a season-best 61 per cent against Texas Southern.

UP NEXT

New Mexico State: The Aggies are expected to contend in the WAC again next season with a solid core of players returning and a couple of transfers who sat out this season.

Clemson: The Tigers will face another team still overcoming a key injury when they face No. 4 seed Auburn in the second round on Sunday.