Despite opening the game 4-of-5 from three-point range and trailing by just one point at the half, the NC State men’s basketball team couldn’t keep up in the second half, and the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers coasted to a 61-51 win.
NC State (11-5, 2-1 ACC) featured two periods of more than six minutes without scoring a point in either half, and this inconsistency in scoring proved costly, despite nine made three-pointers over the course of the game.
“We did a lot of good things,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We just didn’t do enough and didn’t finish the game.”
The Pack started off quickly, making 4-of-5 from beyond the arc before the first media timeout, two of them coming from Trevor Lacey, en route to a 16-12 run to start the game. Shooting from distance proved to be the difference at the beginning of the game, with the Cavaliers (14-0, 2-0 ACC) going just 2-of-6 from deep.
However, the Pack’s play quickly dropped off, failing to score any points in over a six-minute span, while missing six field goals and committing three turnovers.
This prompted a 13-0 run by the Cavs to jump to a 21-16 lead. Sophomore forward Kyle Washington was able to end the streak with a short jumper just before the third media timeout, cutting the deficit to three.
However, junior guard Justin Anderson, the Cavs’ leading scorer on the season, quickly heated up with 11 points on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc at the end of the first half. Junior guard Malcolm Brogdan led the Cavs with 12 points and four assists.
Ralston Turner kept the Pack in the game with 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. Washington recorded seven points and eight rebounds in the first half, as the Pack trailed just 32-31 at the half.
The Pack had plenty of opportunities to take the lead to start the second period of play, but was slowed down by four missed free throws and a handful of missed opportunities off of four early second half turnovers by the Cavs. However, a jumper by Washington put the Pack up 37-36 just after the first media timeout.
The teams alternated leads six times in the next seven minutes due to sloppy play on both sides of the ball by both teams. However, the Cavs’ broke that streak with a layup with seven minutes remaining in the game to take a 45-42 lead.
After that, the Cavs stayed on top for the rest of the game. They went on a 10-0 run with the Pack going through yet another six-minute scoring drought that ultimately killed the game.
“We were our own worst enemy,” Gottfried said.
NC State scored just 20 points on 9-of-25 from the field in the second half, its lowest single points total in a half this season.
This game remained close for the majority of the contest, but poor shooting from the field and the free throw line by the Pack resulted in a tough road loss against one of the top teams in the country. As a team, it shot a respectful 9-of-21 from beyond the arc, but ended at only 20-of-53 from the field and 2-of-9 at the free throw line.
For NC State, Washington recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting. After putting up 14 points at the end of the first half on perfect shooting, Ralston Turner failed to score in the second half, missing all three of his shots, all of which were from three-point range.
“They made it tougher for him to get open in the second half,” Gottfried said.
The Pack enters the second game of a tough three game stretch against Duke at home on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu takes a shot during the basketball game against No. 3 Virginia in Charlottesville, VA Wednesday, Jan. 7. The Cavaliers won out over the Wolfpack, 61-51.
