Chris Mervin
Sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu dunks during the Wolfpack's 90-83 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Wednesday at PNC Arena. Abu scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Pack's loss.
Despite a combined 58 points from Anthony “Cat” Barber and Abdul-Malik Abu, the NC State men’s basketball team fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 90-83 Wednesday night in PNC Arena.
Abu scored a career-high 22 points and registered his 10th double-double of the season, while Barber’s 36-point performance was his fourth game with over 30 points this season, tops in the ACC. However, the rest of the Wolfpack (11-10, 1-7 ACC) combined for just 25 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
“This is the first time all year I didn’t like our energy level, the lack of enthusiasm in the first half,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “Our team has not done that. [But] we certainly responded in the second half.”
The two teams started off in a power struggle, with neither team able to build a decisive lead. However, Georgia Tech (12-8, 2-5 ACC) knocked down two threes in a row to break off an 11-6 run to go up 25-19 with 10:09 left in the half. It was then the Pack’s turn to strike, as it went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 25.
The Yellow Jackets then heated up from seemingly all areas of the court, going on a 16-4 run to end the half with a demanding 47-33 lead.
“We didn’t come out with a good enough effort,” Abu said. “[We needed] more intensity in the first half, and we dug ourselves in a hole.”
Barber led all scorers with 14 points on 5 of 13 from the field. Abu followed right behind with 13 points and five rebounds, but his four turnovers proved to be costly for the Wolfpack. Every other State player combined for just six points. Despite his starting status, Cody Martin saw only nine minutes in the first half after committing three fouls. While the Pack shot a respectable 44.8 percent from the field, it made no 3-pointers.
GT’s use of the full-court defense proved to be problematic for the Wolfpack, forcing seven turnovers and scoring seven fast break points in the first half. Additionally, the Yellow Jackets did a much better job of moving the ball around, garnering 11 assists to NC State’s three. Adam Smith and Nick Jacobs led Georgia Tech with 12 points apiece at the end of the half, with Smith knocking down 4-of-7 3-point shots.
Just like the first half, the second began with a power struggle. Then, threes from Caleb Martin and Barber sparked a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 54-53. However, the Yellow Jackets went on a 15-1 run after Anya fouled Marcus Georges-Hunt and Abu was called for a technical foul to extend the lead 67-54 with 7:16 left in the game.
“We got it back to a one-point game, then I thought the technical foul turned the momentum,” Gottfried said. “We’ve gotta have more poise, it was a costly mistake. The momentum shifted back in their favor, when I thought a lot of the momentum was going in our favor until that point.”
Despite a valiant effort by NC State in the closing minutes of the game and shooting lights out from three (6 of 9) in the second half, it simply dug itself in too deep a hole to overcome. Gottfried emphasized big men BeeJay Anya and Lennard Freeman’s performances, which saw them grab three rebounds each.
“We gotta rebound the ball better,” Gottfried said. “You gotta go get the ball. There were 78 rebounds to get tonight. BeeJay Anya got three of them. Lennard Freeman got three of them. You gotta go get the thing.”
The Pack looks to bounce back against the Miami Hurricanes Saturday at 3 p.m. in PNC Arena.
“It’s sad,” Barber said. “We can’t dwell on it though. We have to keep fighting. We’re going to come out and try to win the next one.”