Texas guard Tre Johnson grabbed his teammate’s missed jumper. Johnson went for a layup that was off the mark but forward Arthur Kaluma grabbed his miss. Kaluma passed it out to the perimeter, allowing Texas to reset its offense again. On the same possession, the ball made its way back to Johnson who made a corner 3 to give the Longhorns a 60-57 lead with under two minutes to go.
With 59 seconds left, clinging to a 60-59 lead, Kaluma missed a shot at the rim but Longhorns guard Chendall Weaver beat NC State senior guard Marcus Hill to the missed shot. While trying to make up for the missed box out, Hill fouled Weaver who made one free throw to give Texas a 61-59 lead.
After out-rebounding the Longhorns in the first half, it seemed as if the Wolfpack corrected the mistakes that cost it against BYU and Purdue when it lost the rebound battle by 23 across those two games. But in the waning minutes of a game, the same miscues doomed the Pack in its 63-59 loss to Texas Wednesday night at Lenovo Center.
“It’s just maturing,” Hill said. “Boxing out at the end instead of just watching. Just maturing and figuring out the little things, like just locking in the last few minutes.”
In the first half, every NC State player looked for a body to box out when a shot went up and crashed the glass hard rather than watching the ball fall from the rim. It was something head coach Kevin Keatts emphasized before the game as he was frustrated by the Wolfpack’s lack of effort on the boards in its last two games, especially from the guards.
The message was received loud and clear. After just grabbing three rebounds against Purdue and BYU combined, graduate guard Michael O’Connell grabbed five boards in the first half while Hill and senior guard Jayden Taylor grabbed two apiece to help give NC State an 18-14 rebound advantage at the half.
“I thought they just beat us to a couple of 50-50 balls,” Keatts said. “I thought in the first half we did a really good job. I came into this game, we’re focusing on not giving up offensive rebounds.”
But in the final 20 minutes, it seemed as if the Wolfpack lacked the same intensity when looking for a body to box out or going up for a missed shot. That lack of focus allowed the Longhorns to win the rebound battle 23-12 in the second half with 10 of those being offensive rebounds. In a game where points were hard to come by, it was the little things like rebounding that gave Texas the edge.
“I thought in the second half they beat us to some loose basketballs,” Keatts said. “I thought we made a better effort to block out. There were long rebounds that we didn’t get. And like I said, I thought Weaver had a huge offensive rebound that sent him to the free-throw line. I thought that was a big play in the game.”
Even after losing the rebound battle in the second half, the Wolfpack still had a chance to win in the final seconds of the game. Taylor found himself in a one-on-one matchup on the right wing with just 10 seconds remaining. Dribbling with his left hand, Taylor forced his way into the paint and put up a contested layup.
“We wanted to bring Jayden Taylor off of some stagger screens to turn the corner and get to the rim if he could,” Keatts said. “Didn’t want to settle for a three. I thought Jayden did a good job and honestly thought that it was contact in the restricted area.”
But no foul was called on the apparent contact, allowing Texas to punctuate its victory with a game-ending dunk.
“I’m just disappointed with the end,” Taylor said. “I feel like I was fouled and should’ve been shooting two from the free throw line.”
Even if the foul was called and Taylor was sent to the line, it was far from guaranteed that he would make them both. NC State had its worst performance of the season from the stripe, making just six of its 14 free throw attempts.
“We’ve got to make our free throws,” Taylor said. “We went six of 14 and that’s not going to cut it.”
Though not ideal, there are key improvements from the loss. After scoring just six points through the last two games and beginning tonight’s match on the bench, senior guard Dontrez Styles scored a season-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers. The Georgetown transfer was the only consistent threat from beyond the arc and provided a much-needed facet to an otherwise predictable NC State offense.
“Just being aggressive and being myself,” Styles said. “I feel like in San Diego I wasn’t myself. Just come out here and be confident in my abilities.”
Hill provided 16 points, including 11 in the first half that created the initial spark for the Wolfpack. Hill made seven of his 11 shot attempts, but converted just one of his four shots at the charity stripe, highlighting areas of improvement.
Next up, NC State hosts its first ACC matchup of the season against Florida State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
