The NC State men’s basketball team faced its second top-10 team in three days Saturday evening at PNC Arena against No. 8 Florida State. 

The Wolfpack (17-10, 8-8 ACC) was unable to create the same magic it saw against Duke, as a strong second half from Florida State (23-4, 13-2 ACC) led to a 67-61 loss for NC State.

“We played two of the top teams, and we played them down to the wire,” said NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. “I want our guys to learn from this … then we have to figure out where we go from here.”

With nearly identical stats across the boxscore, including shots made, 3-pointers made, rebounds and assists, one thing was totally different: Florida State shot 29 free throws compared to NC State’s 13. Also, NC State committed 21 personal fouls, 16 of which were in the second half; Florida State had 15 total fouls with five in the second half, despite the intensity of the game heating up.

“It’s going to be really hard for us to beat any team when they take 16 more free throws than you do,” Keatts said. “They made more free throws than we took, and that’s tough.”

As a result of Florida State’s deep roster, it had four players score in double digits, led by M.J. Walker and Patrick Williams, who each had 12 points on the night. Leading the way for the Wolfpack was redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels, who scored 18 points and brought in nine rebounds. Another standout player for the Pack was sophomore forward Jericole Hellems, who had 14 points and seven rebounds. 

Both teams came out of the gate aggressive on defense, forcing tough contested shots early on. NC State was able to force seven personal fouls on Florida State in the first six minutes to get in the bonus. It was then able to go on a 9-2 run to take the lead 15-11. It took nine minutes for the Pack to commit its first foul.

Junior guard Braxton Beverly hit his first 3-point attempt of the game, then Hellems took a charge on the ensuing possession to get the crowd inside PNC Arena rocking, with NC State leading 20-16. 

Two turnovers led to a Hellems dunk and a layup from redshirt senior guard C.J. Bryce to push the lead to 27-20. The Noles responded promptly with a 7-0 run to tie the game with 2:27 left in the first half. 

NC State ended the half the stronger team, with five straight points thanks to a layup from Funderburk and a 3-pointer from Bryce along with a few key defensive stops.

Hellems led the Wolfpack at halftime with eight points and four rebounds. Funderburk and Daniels continued their good play with seven points each. 

The Wolfpack and the Seminoles were even on the boards in the first half, with NC State grabbing 17 and Florida State grabbing 16. Both teams had seven offensive rebounds. 

Florida State came out of the break a new team. A 14-5 run gave it a 41-37 lead at the first media timeout. During this run, Funderburk picked up two unnecessary fouls to bump his total to four and went to the bench.

“Obviously, [Funderburk’s] been playing good,” Hellems said. “He’s a big factor on our team on offense and defense … but we’ve got some people who can step up.”

Opposite from the first half, NC State committed six personal fouls before Florida State committed one. The first coming on a 3-pointer made by Beverly with 10:52 remaining. 

On a missed layup, senior guard Markell Johnson hit the ground hard, and no foul was called. Keatts was assessed a technical foul for arguing the call. The Seminoles made both free throws after the technical foul. A jumper by Trent Forrest pushed their lead to 57-48, the biggest lead at the time, forcing an NC State timeout.

“I felt like on our drives, we didn’t get the same whistle,” Keatts said. “I’m going to fight for my guys every time … I’m not accusing anyone of cheating — I’m not doing that — but the bottom line is, I had two guys foul out of the game.”

The Wolfpack struggled to score down the stretch, going on a 3:20 shooting drought and letting Florida State extend its lead to 10. On the defensive end, NC State struggled to secure defensive rebounds, leading to second-chance points and the Seminoles running more time off the clock. Florida State outscored NC State 16-5 on second-chance points throughout the entire game. 

“We made more runs in the first half, but we did not make enough in the second half,” Daniels said. “[Florida State] got hot, and we let a few offensive rebounds slip by, and we didn’t get enough stops in a row.”

Daniels knocked down a layup to cut the lead to five points with 33 seconds remaining; however, the Seminoles, despite missing seven free throws late in the game, were able to get defensive stops to close out a 67-61 win.

“I don’t think it was our effort,” Bryce said. “I feel like we played hard and until the last second. We’ve got a couple more games in the conference, and we have to finish strong.”

NC State will be back in action for another crucial game for its NCAA Tournament hopes Tuesday night at the Dean Dome against UNC-Chapel Hill. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m., with the game streaming live on ESPN. Follow @TechSports for live updates.