NC State overcame a slow offensive start by draining 9 of 12 three-pointers in the first half to break open the game against Boston College.
Freshman point guard Braxton Beverly celebrated his 21st birthday Sunday and responded by making all five of his three-pointers before intermission. Fifth-year senior guard Sam Hunt, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, came off the bench and knocked down all three of his first-half treys. The two helped spark NC State to an 82-66 win over Boston College to improve to 19-9 overall and 9-6 in the ACC.
The birthday duo only knocked in one three-pointer in the second half, by Hunt, but the damage was already done against a Boston College squad (16-12 overall, 6-9 ACC) that is in the midst of a another potential losing season in the ACC.
“That was two good birthdays for us,” Beverly said.
Beverly tied his career high of five three-pointers, which he achieved against Jacksonville (on nine attempts) Dec. 22. With sophomore point guard Markell Johnson taking over the majority of the playmaking duties of late, Beverly has been more of a catch-and-shoot specialist for the Wolfpack. He has made 17 of 27 (63.0 percent) from beyond the arc over the last six contests.
“I hadn’t done it in college and in the ACC, that’s a little better,” Beverly said of making five straight three-pointers. “I’m a little more excited about that.”
Hunt been more of a three-point shooting specialist for NC State compared to his previous stops at Jacksonville and North Carolina A&T. He has tried 118 field goals and 106 of them have come from behind the three-point line. The Greensboro, N.C., product has gone 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from beyond the arc the last three games, and the Wolfpack’s 19 wins is six away from what he achieved his first three years in college basketball combined.
Hunt hit a particularly difficult left corner three-pointer where his feet were far from set and in a awkward position.
“That shot he made in the corner was special,” Keatts said. “I thought our guards came off and found the corner shooters. We were able to step up and made shots.”
Hunt seems to always get himself free for corner three-pointers.
“It’s rare to have guys that make corner threes,” Keatts said. “Guys can make it from the top of the key and a lot of guys from the wing, but the three-point shooters, it can be tough from the corner. He has been huge for us the last few games.”
Defense kept Wolfpack in the game early
NC State had a difficult start of the game, but were lucky enough where its defense didn’t allow Boston College from running away to a big lead.
The Wolfpack committed six turnovers in the first five minutes, missed their first eight shots and didn’t get a field goal until junior forward Torin Dorn got a layup after rebounding his own miss with 12:46 left in the first half. Normally, that is a recipe for disaster, but Boston College was almost as bad in execution, so NC State was down just 6-3.
“Like most of you guys, the first five minutes, I was going to get up and leave because we hadn’t scored,” Keatts said. “It’s weird because we came out for whatever reason, we didn’t make shots early. I was OK with it because they only had six points.”
NC State’s poor start was quickly forgotten after the three-point shooting barrage of Beverly and Hunt, which propelled the Wolfpack to a commanding 44-28 halftime lead. At one point, the Wolfpack made 17 of 19 field goals to surge ahead to a 20-point lead in the first half.
The Eagles finished the first half with an abysmal 12 of 39 (30.8 percent) from the field, and made just 2 of 17 (11.8 percent) three-pointers. The second half wasn’t much better for Boston College.
“We know we can score points,” Beverly said. “Even when the shots aren’t going, as long as we are getting shots and playing hard on the defensive side, it’s going to come to us.”
Hunt said the players were never worried because of their defense.
“We defend, we press and we play fast,” Hunt said. “At any point in time, we can get going and get back in the game.”
NC State shuts down Jerome Robinson
NC State struggled in certain areas — the Eagles had 20 offensive rebounds and the Wolfpack committed 16 turnovers — but Boston College struggled with three-point shooting. Junior wing Jordan Chatman made 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, but the rest of the Eagles overall were just 1 of 18 (5.6 percent).
“Those guys lead the ACC at 10 a game,” Keatts said. “We found a way to win when we weren’t particularly sharp today. We scored 82 points, but we didn’t play a flawless game at all. We were a little rusty for whatever reason.”
What did work for NC State was having star Boston College junior shooting guard Jerome Robinson struggle through a difficult homecoming. The former Raleigh Broughton High standout entered the contest averaging 21.0 points per game, but crashed down hard on his non-shooting left elbow and finished a miserable 4 of 20 (20.0 percent) from the field for just eight points.
Former Havelock (N.C.) High standout Ky Bowman, a sophomore point guard, led the Eagles with 21 points.
“When you look at Robinson and Bowman, those guys are elite guards,” Keatts said. “They are one of the best backcourts in the country and the ACC, and I thought our guys stepped up to the challenge.”
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