Two weeks following its home loss to Miami, N.C. State (18-7, 7-5 ACC) found itself back on the winning side at PNC Arena, by defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies (11-14, 2-10 ACC) in overtime, 90-86. The Wolfpack has improved to 13-1 in Raleigh this season.
“Virginia Tech played awfully well, and they have done that every night,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “They stepped up and made tough shots when they had to make them.”
Senior forward Scott Wood scored 22 points in the game, a season high against conference opponents. His six three-pointers pushed him past former Duke Blue Devil Jon Scheyer to become 10th all-time in the ACC with 299 career baskets beyond the arc.
“A lot of [the success shooting threes] is luck, and a lot of it is good screening by [senior forward] Richard [Howell] and [junior forward] C.J. [Leslie]” Wood said. “Hopefully, I can make a lot more so we can keep advancing.”
Leslie accounted for 16 points and nine rebounds for State. Howell added 10 points and 16 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season, moving him to fourth in the NCAA.
Junior guard Lorenzo Brown returned as the starting point guard after getting injured in Charlottesville. He scored 15 points and added seven assists, surpassing the 500-assist milestone for his career. Brown is the third player in school history to reach that mark. Chris Corchiani and Sidney Lowe were the first two to accomplish the feat.
“I do not think he is at 100 percent yet, but I think he is showing an unbelievable amount of character through it,” Gottfried said. “Lorenzo showed a lot of toughness and a lot of effort.”
Freshman guard Tyler Lewis scored 13 points and was perfect at the charity stripe, making all six free throws.
Lewis has entered double digits in three of the last four games since averaging 1.8 points per game in the first 20 games he played.
“Tyler has deserved to play, period,” Gottfried said. “Tyler has really stepped forward for our guys.”
Both teams were evenly matched in the first half. The Hokies held a two-point lead at halftime, their largest at that point. State had a five point lead with 11:21 remaining in first period which included eight different ties.
Virginia Tech began a surge in the second half, leading by as most as seven with 7:49 remaining in regulation until the Pack came alive with a 14 point run, leading by a score of 67-60 with 3:45 to go. Freshman forward T.J. Warren led the run. He scored six points in that stretch. Warren finished the game with 12 points and two rebounds. The run also featured a four-point play from Wood after he got fouled on a made three and scored on the ensuing free throw.
“I actually did not think it was going to go in,” Wood said. “[Tech sophomore guard Robert Brown] just got into my lower body, and I was just able to knock it down.”
The Hokies’ three-point shooting helped keep the team in the game. Virginia Tech made 11 shots behind the arc in the game, including three three-pointers following State’s 14-point run.
After Brown fouled Tech senior guard Erick Green with five seconds remaining, Green made his first free throw and missed his second, setting up Hokie junior forward Jarell Eddie for the game-tying layup. Brown missed the buzzer beater, sending the game into overtime.
“They executed what they wanted to do perfectly,” Gottfried said. “They made a nice play, and the ball bounced perfectly for them to do that.”
In the final five minutes of the game, State and Tech went back and forth up until Lewis got fouled with 51 seconds remaining. Lewis made both free throws to give the Pack the lead, which it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.