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NC State basketball survives scare from Georgia Tech, 72-64

MattCarterby: Matt Carter02/04/23TheWolfpacker
Screen Shot 2023-02-04 at 4.13.51 PM
NC State-Georgia Tech box score

NC State basketball has managed to avoid any Quad 3 or Quad 4 losses all season, and that continued to be the case following a 72-64 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena in Raleigh. But the Yellow Jackets did put a mighty scare into the Wolfpack.

NC State needed a 13-4 run to close out the game and rally from down 61-58 with less than 4 minutes left in the contest.

And by doing so, the Wolfpack was able to overcome subpar performances from the star backcourt duo of super senior Jarkel Joiner and sophomore Terquavion Smith. Together, the two combined to shoot 3 of 17 from the field, including 2 of 12 on three-pointers, and score 10 points.

Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner joked that if he had said before the game that the ACC’s leading scorer (Smith) and fifth-leading scorer (Joiner) would be held to such a performance and NC State still found a way to win, you would have thought Pastner’s “got six eyeballs.”

Yet, NC State prevailed thanks to big performances from the front court players and a clutch effort from senior guard Casey Morsell, who set a new high for scoring in an ACC game with 17 points and made a big three-pointer to put the Pack up 65-61 with 2:06 left.

Fifth-year senior center D.J. Burns Jr. had 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and added 8 rebounds while playing nearly 37 minutes.

Sophomore forward Ernest Ross came off the bench and had 16 points and 7 rebounds.

“It felt good because we always relying on our point guards to do most of the work, so we just had to step up and help them,” Ross noted.

Ross was also 7 for 7 from the free throw line, making four in a row in the final minute. NC State was plus-18 when Ross was on the court (23:13 minutes of playing time).

“I have been in the gym every day working on my free throws,” Ross said. “I just took my time and stepped up to the free throw line and did what I had to do.”

Together, the front court and Morsell helped the Wolfpack overcome Georgia Tech, one of the worst shooting teams in the ACC, hover around 50.0% on field goal attempts. The Yellow Jackets had made 25 of 51 shots before making just 1 of 8 to end the contest, or 46.7%.

NC State, conversely, was at one point 4-of-20 shooting in the second half and saw a 41-35 halftime lead evaporate. The Pack had built that advantage at the break by ending the first half on a 10-0 run.

“We didn’t play well. … We won the game like we needed to, but I didn’t think we played a great game,” NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts said.

“But we still won.”

The Wolfpack improved to 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the ACC, while Georgia Tech lost a ninth straight game to fall to 8-15 and 1-12.

NC State begins a three-game road stretch with an important league showdown at Virginia Tuesday evening, a 9 p.m. tipoff on ACC Network.

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