The NC State men’s basketball team defeated Syracuse 74-70 in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night. Graduate guard Al Freeman led the way with 17 points.
Neither the Wolfpack (17-9, 7-6 ACC) or the Orange (17-9, 6-7 ACC) could build much of a lead in the game, with the largest lead being just 8 points late in the game for the Wolfpack.
Syracuse got off to a good start in the first half, going 7 of 11 on field goals in the first 13 minutes of the first half when the Orange raced out to a 26-20 lead on NC State. The Wolfpack was 7 of 17 in that same time period.
Syracuse was ahead 26-20 with seven minutes to go in the half, but the Orange made just two field goals the rest of the half. While Syracuse’s offense floundered, NC State scored 10 straight points to take a 30-26 lead. The Wolfpack took a 35-32 lead into halftime as Al Freeman ran down the clock on the final possession and then split the zone defense and drove in for the basket as time expired.
Al Freeman and sophomore guard Markell Johnson combined for 18 of the Wolfpack’s first-half points. Johnson finished the first half with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two turnovers; he kept the Pack in the game despite the Orange capitalizing so much on the Wolfpacks 10 first-half turnovers. The Orange also turned the ball over 10 times.
Forward Oshae Brissett went off for the Orange to start the second half, scoring 7 points before the first TV timeout at the 16-minute mark. Brissett went on to score a game-high 25 points as the Wolfpack couldn’t guard him. Brissett was a big part of the 32 points Syracuse scored off of turnovers, compared to just 14 for the Wolfpack.
Syracuse and the Wolfpack traded runs throughout the second half as Syracuse went up 47-41 with 13:30 to play before NC State brought it back within one only for Syracuse once again to take a 6-point lead at 54-48.
NC State took its biggest lead of the game at 70-62 after graduate guard Sam Hunt’s 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining which concluded a 22-8 run by the Wolfpack. Hunt finished the game with a season-high 14 points and shot 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
But the Orange scored 8 straight points in less than two minutes to tie the game at 70. NC State regained the lead on Johnson’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 33 seconds remaining. It was the Wolfpack’s seventh 3-pointer of the second half on just 13 attempts. Brissett tried to tie the game with another 3-pointer, but his shot with 12 seconds left drew the back iron.
Syracuse fouled State freshman guard Lavar Batts. He missed the first of a 1-and-1 opportunity to give Syracuse some life, but Syracuse guard Frank Howard was fouled with 6.2 seconds remaining. Howard missed both free throws to keep the NC State lead at 3.
Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven hit a late free throw to cap the scoring.
The Wolfpack gained another big win for its NCAA tournament resume, which includes wins over Duke, UNC, Arizona and now a road win against Syracuse.
NC State will be back on the court at Wake Forest on Saturday.
