In a record-breaking night in PNC Arena, the NC State men’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss against Syracuse in overtime Wednesday, 100-93.
The Wolfpack (14-9, 3-7 ACC) was led by a triple-double performance from freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. and 31 points from sophomore forward Maverick Rowan, but failed to hold on to a late lead over the Orange (14-9, 6-4 ACC).
Syracuse sophomore guard John Gillon shined for the Orange, scoring a career-best 43 points and shooting 9 of 10 from 3-point range. The nine 3-pointers broke a PNC Arena record previously held by Davidson alum Stephen Curry, when he made eight against Gonzaga in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys; I’m proud of how they played,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “Our guys did enough and put themselves in a position to win. So, that one hurts.”
The 13 point, 11 rebound and 15 assist game was the second triple-double for Smith this season, and only the third in NC State history. Smith is also the only player in the NCAA this year with multiple triple-doubles.
“He didn’t give it away to win, and we would all do the same,” junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu said. “We just want to go out there and win games; we don’t care about the individual statistics because at the end of the day, when you lose, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Both teams were hot early, keeping pace with each other throughout the first 10 minutes of the game. The Wolfpack shot 9 of 17 from the field during this time but were outdone by the Orange who went 9 of 15, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc jumping out to a slight 26-22 lead.
Syracuse continued its hot shooting to jump out to a 35-27 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half. However, a small run from the Pack highlighted by a Rowan 3-pointer brought State back within three points.
The two squads continued to exchange baskets down the stretch, as they entered halftime with the Orange on top, 44-41. Rowan was the spark for the Pack throughout the first half, leading the team with 18 points. He shot 7 of 12 from the field during the opening period and went 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
The Pack came out of the locker room on a tear, going on a 12-3 run to open up a 53-47 lead, forcing a Syracuse timeout. The run was sparked by an aggressive dunk from freshman center Omer Yurtseven, and was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Henderson and Rowan.
“Everybody knows we we’re capable of,” Abu said. “This one hurts a little bit because we felt like it was one of the games where we put it together.”
State continued to outplay the Orange, jumping ahead to a 77-64 lead. However, Syracuse showed life with a 12-0 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers from Gillon.
The Syracuse run ended on a tip-in basket from Smith with four and a half minutes to play, to complete his triple-double with his 10th rebound of the game.
The teams battled down to the wire, as Syracuse tied the game at 84-84 following two free throws with 40 seconds left. After an NC State timeout, the Wolfpack took the lead on a desperation 3-pointer from Rowan with 10 seconds left on the clock.
The Orange answered quickly, driving down the court and getting the ball to Gillon in the corner who was tightly guarded by Rowan. Gillon threw up a heavily contested 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net to tie it at 87-87 with 1.8 seconds remaining. State got one more chance in regulation, but a three from Rowan missed the mark and the game went to overtime.
“In regulation it came down to Gillon making an incredible shot,” Gottfried said. “That’s probably a shot you want to have a guy take against you, to be honest. And he made it. He was out of this world today.”
Syracuse opened the overtime period up on a 7-0 run. A mid-range jump shot from Abu, followed by a four-point play from Rowan gave the Pack some late hope, but the Orange was able to wrap the game up, 100-93.
“As one of the older guys on the team, we just have to move on,” Abu said. “Coach G is gonna tell you the same thing, ‘It’s just one [game],’ it feels like a million but it’s just one.”
The Pack is back in action in PNC Arena Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.
Sophomore Maverick Rowan does a victory lap after putting away another three pointer. Rowan led the team in scoring against Syracuse with a total of 31 points at the game on Wednesday.
