Led by senior guard Ralston Turner’s 18, the NC State men’s basketball team carved up the Virginia Tech Hokies 69-53 Saturday night at PNC Arena for its seventh ACC win of the season.
Winning consecutive games for the first time since early December, the Pack (16-11, 7-7 ACC) took every shot the Hokies (10-17, 2-12 ACC) gave them en route to a blowout. The Wolfpack 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 it held the Hokies to just 10 points and four-of-15 shooting in the first 15 minutes of the half.
Sophomore guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber lead 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 as they 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. Bibbs and Smith lead the Hokies at the half with 10 points apiece.
Virginia Tech picked up right where it left off at the start of the second half, cutting the Pack’s lead to three while forcing a couple of turnovers in the process.
But 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. Including Bibbs and Smith, the Hokies had only five players score for them the entire night. Smith and Bibbs scored 15 and 19 respectively for the Hokies.
The Pack defense once again showed its teeth in the second half, rendering 53 points to the Hokies all while forcing eight turnovers and blocking five shots.
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. 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 on 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 of games. State gets two days off before traveling down the road to Chapel Hill to take on the instate rival Tar Heels.
