Led by senior guard Ralston Turner’s 18 points, the NC State men’s basketball team dominated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 69-53, Saturday night at PNC Arena for the team’s seventh ACC win of the season.
Winning consecutive games for the first time since early December, the Wolfpack (16-11, 7-7 ACC) took every shot the Hokies (10-17, 2-12 ACC) gave them en route to a blowout.
The Pack got going early, jumping out to a 15-point lead while shooting 56 percent in the first half. Defense was the name of the game for State, as the team held the Hokies to just 10 points and 4-of-15 shooting in the first 15 minutes of the half.
Sophomore guard Anthony “Cat” Barber led the way for the Pack in the first half scoring 10 points while shooting 3-for-4 from the field including two 3-pointers.
Virginia Tech’s leading scorers Justin Bibbs and Adam Smith proved dangerous, reaching double-digits by the end of the opening half.
The duo combined to score the Hokies last 15 points of the half including a buzzer-beating three by Smith to cut the Pack’s lead to 32-25 heading into the break.
“They made some tough shots at times,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We could’ve been better defensively, and force them to make tough twos rather than threes. Bibbs and Smith stepped up and played really well and made it tough for us all night.”
Virginia Tech picked up right where it left off at the start of the second half, cutting the Pack’s lead to three, forcing a couple of turnovers in the process.
However, that was as close as the Hokies could get to the Pack all night. A 25-9 Wolfpack run put the Hokies down big in the second half, and State never looked back.
Only five Hokies players scored for the team the entire night. Bibbs and Smith led the Hokies with 19 and 15, respectively.
“They had a bit of a mismatch because they had a four-guard set,” redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey said. “We usually used two bigs, and they took advantage of that at points. It gives us stuff to work on, and we’ll be prepared for that next time we see it.”
The Pack defense once again showed its teeth in the second half, rendering 53 points to the Hokies while forcing eight turnovers and blocking five shots.
“Our defense really started to pick up midway through the second half,” Gottfried said. “BeeJay Anya gave us a really good presence inside and that really helped us, and we didn’t let them get going from three in the second half like they did in the first.”
Turner looked rejuvenated after a sluggish stretch over past couple of weeks as he shot 4-for-8 from downtown en route to 18 points for the Pack.
“It’s been good to get the shooting rhythm back, I’ve been M.I.A. for a little while,” Turner said. “It’s good to come back to life, and I will continue to work hard and get over that mountain.”
Barber and Lacey each had 10 and 14 respectively for the Pack. Sophomore big man BeeJay Anya put on another block party with three total during the night.
The Pack seems to be getting hot at the right time. Following up a big road win over Louisville with a win Saturday night helps boost the team’s confidence and morale as it heads into this season’s final stretch.
“We’ve been doing a better job recently, and we won a second consecutive game for the first time since December, so we can’t stop now,” Turner said. “Next game will be tough, they have great players and a great coach. They beat us last time so we’re definitely going to have to be ready to play.”
State will get two days off before traveling down the road to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels.
Freshman Abdul-Malik Abu takes the tipoff in the game against Virginia Tech. Abu had a perfect night of shooting where everything he threw up was a hit. NC State took down the Hokies 69-53 this past Saturday in PNC.
