The NC State men’s basketball team dropped its sixth road game of the season to Boston College, 79-63, on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The team struggled on both ends of the floor and found themselves in a hole early, as the Wolfpack seemed to be in the midst of a hangover from their upset victory over No. 15 UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday.
‘’We had no zip, no energy,’’ head coach Mark Gottfried said. ‘’We were dead.’’
The Eagles were unstoppable offensively in the first half, shooting 65 percent from the field. Junior guard Olivier Hanlan, Boston College’s leading scorer, had 14 points in the first half to lead his team to a 43-26 score at the break.
Redshirt junior Trevor Lacey was disappointed with his team’s effort on defense.
‘’We didn’t defend them as well as we should have, and we didn’t make any shots,’’ Lacey said. ‘’There’s really no explanation for it.’’
The Pack’s faults in the first half did not rest solely on the defensive end. NC State shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
The Wolfpack’s scoring problems persisted as the team neglected the rim, having committed only four shot attempts from the paint in the first half.
The second half featured a completely different NC State team, as the Wolfpack outscored the Eagles, 37-36. However, the Pack had dug itself in too deep of a hole to come out of from the previous 20 minutes.
NC State shot free throws often in the second half, hitting 13 of 17 from the line.
The Pack improved on the defensive end after the halftime break, as the team held Boston College to 47 percent from the floor, a significant difference from the Eagles’ productive first-half scoring. Even with the Wolfpack playing better defense, the team could only manage to cut the lead down to 12 points.
NC State’s leading scorer in the matchup was sophomore forward Kyle Washington with 14 points off the bench. Washington also added seven rebounds in his 18 minutes. He was followed by redshirt senior Ralston Turner, who had 13. Turner was uncharacteristic from beyond the arc, only hitting three of his 14 three-point attempts.
Hanlan averaged 27 points per game during the month of February and he contributed 24 points to the Boston College win, along with eight rebounds and a steal.
‘’[Hanlan is] as good as any guard in the country. Period. End of story,’’ Gottfried said. ‘’He’s as good as anybody. He’s deserving of being in that conversation.’’
The Boston College starters carried their team, as the Eagles’ bench totaled only seven points. The Wolfpack bench had 20 points in the game, aided by Washington’s 14.
Offensive rebounding is traditionally a strong indicator for the outcome of a game, but the Pack outscored Boston College in that department with 19 second-chance points to the Eagles’ eight. The Eagles, though, were the more consistent team, shooting 57 percent on the day and 47 percent from behind the arc. Fewer misses lead to fewer second-chance points.
The Pack will look to rebound with a win against Clemson on Tuesday to keep their tournament hopes alive. The Pack lost its previous matchup against the Tigers, 68-57, on Jan. 28 at PNC Arena.
