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Cold-shooting NC State basketball falls at Virginia, 63-50

MattCarterby: Matt Carter02/08/23TheWolfpacker
Screen Shot 2023-02-07 at 11.14.07 PM
NC State-Virginia box score

Turns out, spotting Virginia a 20-point lead over halfway through the game is not a winning recipe. A cold-shooting NC State basketball team fell behind the Cavaliers 40-20 shortly into second half on its way to losing 63-50.

The Wolfpack did cut the lead down to 9 points at 55-46 with 3:26 left, but NC State 6-foot-8 redshirt junior forward Greg Gantt’s apparent open layup was blocked from behind by 6-foot-4 freshman guard Isaac McKneely, which sparked a 6-0 run for the Cavaliers to put the contest away.

NC State dug itself into an insurmountable hole by shooting just 8 of 31 in the first half, or 25.8%. The second half was marginally better at 42.3% (11 of 26), but the Wolfpack, the leading scoring team in the ACC, still ended up with the lowest scoring output of its season thus far.

The Pack was led by senior guard Casey Morsell. The former Virginia transfer, for the second straight contest, set a new personal high for scoring in an ACC game, contributing 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4 of 9 threes.

However, two of the main weapons for NC State basketball struggled.

Fifth-year senior post player D.J. Burns Jr. was limited to 21 minutes while battling foul trouble, including a flagrant one early in the second half. He had just 8 points and also had half of the Wolfpack’s 12 turnovers in the game.

Super senior guard Jarkel Joiner, fresh off making just 1 of 6 shots Saturday vs. Georgia Tech, made only 2 of 14 attempts against Virginia, including 1 of 7 on threes, and finished with 5 points.

Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith finished with a game-high 19 points but needed 20 shots to get there. He connected on seven attempts, including 3 of 11 threes.

Virginia took advantage of NC State’s shooting woes and methodically built a 34-20 halftime lead by making 13 of 25 shots from the field, primarily working for shots around the paint. The Cavaliers attempted only 3 threes in the first half.

The Wahoos cooled off in the second half, making just 8 of 22 attempts (36.4%), but by that point NC State was too far down.

The result knocked NC State down to 19-6 overall and 9-5 in the ACC, while Virginia improved to 18-4 and 10-3. The shorthanded Wolfpack played the game without super senior center Dusan Mahorcic (knee) and fifth-year senior forward Jack Clark (groin), who continue to be out with their respective injuries.

Two assistants for the Wolfpack were also not on the bench. Kareem Richardson missed his second straight contest for undisclosed reasons, while Joel Justus was celebrating the birth of his daughter earlier in the day.

Next up for NC State basketball is the second of a three-game road stretch, a noon tip-off at Boston College. The game will be televised on RSN.

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