Sometimes you can do everything right, and still come up short.
That was NC State on Saturday against Louisville. Two big shots in the waning seconds of the shot clock helped Louisville defeat NC State 73-68 in front of 13,029 fans at PNC Arena.
Louisville’s Noah Locke and Matthew Cross are both quality outside shooters, but both went a little beyond the ordinary, simply because they had to in the ACC opener for both teams.
The first part of the bad news came when starting center Ebenezer Dowuona fouled out when UL point guard Jarrod West drove into the paint. That meant raw freshman post player Ernest Ross played the final 2:21 of the game, coming in for the first time.
West split the free throws to cut NCSU’s lead top 68-65, which set up Locke’s heroics. Louisville had little cohesion on offense, leading Locke to hoist a deep three-pointer with six seconds on the shot clock that found nothing but net with 1:19 left, which tied the game.
Cross followed by blocking Jericole Hellems shot, which then set up Cross’ big play in the game. Louisville called timeout with 30.3 seconds left in the game, but just two seconds on the shot clock. Small forward Dre Davis threw the ball the width of the court to Cross in the left corner, who stepped back and swished the three-pointer, giving the Cardinals a 71-68 lead with 26 seconds left. NCSU called timeout with 23.5 seconds left, but was likely stunned in the huddle.
The Wolfpack worked the ball to freshman wing Terquavion Smith — who got the start for the injured Casey Morsell — and his three-point attempt hit the rim and bounced back over the backboard. The Cardinals tacked on two free throws and stole the victory from the clutches of defeat.
“I thought they made two incredible shots at the end,” Keatts said. “That obviously was the difference in the game.”
Hellems simply said things didn't fall their way tonight.
"We took so many hits and still were able to perform and do what we were supposed to do," Hellems said.
Now, in the first half, the prediction would have been that Louisville would smoothly pull away for a win. The Cardinals’ length inside bothered NC State’s drives. UL took control and led 41-26 with 2:16 left in the first half after 6-11 center Malik Williams drained a three-pointer. Williams loomed large when he was in the game and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and and a team-leading plus-18 for plus/minus.
Williams got a break with 16:07 left in the game, and NC State went to work. Williams didn’t have a blocked shot, but he was a presence at the rim.
The other adjustment NC State seemed to make at halftime was to get into early offense before the Cardinals could set up defensively.
“In an ideal situation, I don’t want to be down every game 14 points, just to show everybody or prove that we could come back,” Keatts said. “This time has no quit in it.”
Smith, Hellems and Cam Hayes spurred a 8-0 run to cut the lead to 45-43. Williams checked back in after that, and that helped settled down UL.
“I learned a lot about my guys and we fought all the way until the end,” Keatts said. “We looked a little fatigue [in the first half] from the four overtimes [vs. Nebraska last Wednesday]. Once we settled in and started playing, I thought we did a good job. Some guys played some great individual games.”
The next NC State surge was when Dowuona sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Wolfpack a 57-52 lead with 8:28. Dowuona’s presence has loomed large with both center Manny Bates and power forward Greg Gantt out with injuries. Dowuona had seven points, three rebounds and two blocks.
“It shows we could compete with anybody in the country, even under our circumstances [with injuries],” Keatts said.
The length of Louisville led to a 14-7 advantage on offensive boards. The Cardinals also out-scored NCSU’s bench 28-0.
NC State fell to 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. NC State gets a break with one game between now and playing Purdue on Dec. 12 in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Wolfpack host Bethune-Cookman at historic Reynolds Coliseum next Thursday on RSN. The Wildcats are 1-6 with a win over Bryant on Nov. 20.
Hellems led the Wolfpack with 18 points, Smith had 17 and Hayes added 15. The length of Louisville helped slow down star do-it-all forward Dereon Seabron, who went 4 of 13 from the field, but he added nine rebounds and two assists.
“I thought he [Smith] was tremendous,” Keatts said.
Smith, who rarely lost in high school at Farmville (N.C.) Central, wasn’t going to accept a moral victory in his first college start against Louisville. He said it is about doing the little things that count.
“I’m feeling good, but I don’t come from a losing background,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t say that I am upset, but I’m kind of tight right now, for real.”
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