NC State equaled last year’s win total and got a crucial first ACC win Thursday against Louisville.
The Wolfpack used a dominating 17-0 run in the second half to cruise to a 76-64 win at PNC Arena in Raleigh. NC State improved to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, and Louisville fell to 2-11 and 0-3 in the league. NCSU plays at Clemson at 4 p.m. Dec. 30.
Sophomore shooting guard Terquavion Smith struggled in the first half, but he sparked the run with back-to-back three-pointers, and then he hit a third one. Mixed in was an impressive dunk as part of a three-point play for redshirt junior forward Jack Clark, and then redshirt junior wing Casey Morsell drained a three-pointer. NC State held a 50-33 lead with 13:47 left and never got challenged.
“We just needed a spark and I’m glad that I was the spark tonight,” Morsell said. “We all care about each other and want to see each other win. I’m glad to get the ball rolling tonight.”
The closest Louisville got was within 10 points.
“I’m proud of the way we passed the ball,” said NC State coach Kevin Keatts on having 17 assists. “I think we are undefeated this year when we have 11 or more assists in a game.”
NC State featured five players in double figures, led by redshirt junior center D.J. Burns getting an efficient 17 points, plus six rebounds in nearly 34 minutes played.
“I’m trying to get him up to 40 [minutes],” Keatts half-joked. “If I can get that guy to 40 minutes, I ought to get a gift.
“He’s as gifted post guy scoring the ball that I’ve seen in a long time.”
Smith’s hot shooting during that stretch made up the bulk of his 14 points. Morsell drained 5 of 7 on three-pointers en route to 15 points.
Clark had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and senior point guard Jarkel Joiner chipped in 13 points. The game could be a spark for Clark, who had been struggling in four of the last five games.
“We started off the game slow, but had a talk at halftime,” said Clark, who had two impressive dunks. “The first ACC game win, now we can roll. It’s a lot faster than the A-10. The physicality is the same, but the speed of the game with the way people get up and down the court, is a lot faster.”
The first half wasn’t overly pretty, with NC State holding a 31-28 lead. NC State struggled from the field at 36.4 percent, and Louisville had nine of its 17 turnovers. Keatts said he used some motivational prodding at halftime to ensure the team didn’t fall into a deeper hole in the ACC.
Keatts said the game before Christmas is always the toughest because the players know they’ll have Dec. 23-25 off coming up. Keatts said he saw growth in defeating Vanderbilt in Chicago, and that paid off against Louisville.
“I wanted to keep them focus and it didn’t matter who we played,” Keatts said. “I didn’t think we played hard enough in the first half. That isn’t who we are, not this particular team. I had a few choice words and we talked about it.”
Louisville had four players in double figures, led by center Sydney Curry who had 16 points in his heavyweight battle with Burns.
“I’ll give [Louisville coach] Kenny [Payne] a lot of credit because his team is still playing hard, even though they don’t have a great record right now,” Keatts said. “Believe it or not, they’ll win a few games in the ACC if they just continue to play hard and compete.”
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