NC State basketball prevails over Vanderbilt, 70-66

NC State basketball trailed 38-34 at halftime to Vanderbilt in Chicago, and when the Commodores started the second half with the first four points, the Pack needed a to adjust and find a spark. NC State did so by going to fifth-year senior forward DJ Burns Jr.

And every time the ball found Burns, good things seemed to happen.

Burns made 4 of his 5 second half shot attempts, connected on all 6 free throw attempts and dished out 3 assists to go with his 14 post-halftime points. Burns also grabbed 8 rebounds and had a blocked shot in the final 20 minutes, helping NC State pull out a 70-66 victory over the Commodores.

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In the process, the Wolfpack improved to 10-3 overall on the season and delivered to NC State basketball sixth-year head coach Kevin Keatts his 100th win at the school.

Burns would finish the contest with 18 points and 9 rebounds, and the Wolfpack outscored Vanderbilt by 13 points in the 28 minutes that Burns played. In the 12 minutes without him, NC State had a 9-point deficit.

Burns proved especially clutch in the final minutes. An 8-2 run by Vanderbilt had turned a 61-56 NC State lead into a 64-63 Commodores advantage with 1:59 left. After Vandy guard Ezra Manjon’s driving shot put his team up a point, the Pack turned to Burns in the post, where he drew a foul on Vanderbilt center Liam Robbins.

Facing a one-and-one, Burns calmly made both to put NC State back in front with 1:37 to go. Vanderbilt guard Trey Thomas had a three-pointer rim out on the next possession. Once again, the Pack fed Burns in the paint. This time, rather than forcing a shot, Burns dished to a cutting senior guard Casey Morsell, who made a tough layup with 48 seconds remaining.

That gave the Pack a 67-64 lead, and the NC State backcourt duo of super senior Jarkel Joiner and sophomore Terquavion Smith made 3 of 4 free throws in a pair of one-and-one trips to the line to ice the win.

Vanderbilt fell to 5-6 with the defeat.

Smith finished with 16 points, although he struggled in the second half, missing all 8 field goal attempts, and shot just 6 of 20 overall for the game. Morsell added 15 points, and Joiner contributed 12.

Next up for NC State basketball is the start of 18 consecutive ACC games to close out the regular season. Louisville comes to Raleigh’s PNC Arena for a 7 p.m. tip on Thursday evening, as the Pack will seek its first ACC win after two earlier conference defeats. The game will be televised on ACC Network.