Dereon Seabron helps lift NC State past Texas Southern
NC State needed a second-half spark and got it Sunday.
The Wolfpack out-scored Texas Southern by 11 points in the second half to close out the Tigers 65-57 at PNC Arena and improve to 4-1 on the season. NC State hosts Louisiana Tech next Saturday at PNC Arena.
NCSU redshirt sophomore Dereon Seabron led the way once again with 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and that helped make up for the second half absence of Jericole Hellems, who fouled out with 15:13 remaining.
"One of the big things was with us losing Manny [Bates], I had to pick it up more on the boards," Seabron said. "I had to be a leader out there on the floor."
NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said he made sure he talked to the team in a way his mother would approve of, but he wasn’t happy at halftime.
“I don’t curse, but my hand is hurting though [from halftime],” Keatts said. “I was disappointed. I don’t want anybody to be tougher than us. I thought we got pushed around and didn’t make physical blackouts and didn’t finish our possessions.”
Seabron’s toughness on the boards and finishing against contact has been evident all season. He has at least nine rebounds in every game, including notching his fourth double-double of the young season.
Keatts called him as good a sophomore as any in the ACC.
“He doesn’t have [fancy] weight room numbers, but lets give him credit,” Keatts said. “He’s another kid who has come through this program that has developed into a really good basketball player. I can always point to Jericole or to DJ Funderburk or always go to Devon Daniels, C.J. Bryce, Jericole Hellems. He’s the next line of guys.”
Keatts does think Seabron’s work in the weight room is paying off, even if his lifting numbers won’t wow anyone.
“Last year, he would drive the ball and create shots at the rim, and now he’s going through contact, which is good for us,” Keatts said.
NC State was able to get Texas Southern’s two leading scorers, post players Joirdon Karl Nicholas and John Walker III, to exit the game with two fouls with 8:26 left in the first half. The driving ability of forward Dereon Seabron started to put the pressure on the Tigers’ big men.
The Wolfpack made its move, starting with freshman wing Terquavion Smith hitting a left corner three-pointer to extend their lead to 20-11.
Then foul trouble by NC State and energized play by Texas Southern changed the trajectory of the game. Casey Morsell, Cam Hayes, Ebenezer Dowuona and top reserve Smith all had two fouls, with Morsell remaining in the game. Texas Southern responded with a 13-5 run to cut the NC State lead to 25-24 with 3:46 remaining in the first half.
That set up Texas Southern leading 31-28 at halftime, and frustration coming from the NC State locker room. Keatts knew the Tigers were gifted at chasing down loose offensive rebounds, but he was still upset at the 13-7 deficit at halftime. NC State also was losing 21-10 in bench points, which was a negative reminder of what happened in the last game against Oklahoma State.
“I thought our team found a way to win a game when our offense wasn’t necessarily clicking,” Keatts said.
Both teams lost key guys in back-to-back plays early in the second half, but it also was when NC State made its move. Texas Southern leading scorer coming into the game, power forward Walker, picked up his fourth foul with 15:26 left. NCSU senior forward Hellems followed up with his fourth foul 13 seconds later, but in a twist, he also got a technical foul, which counted toward his fifth foul and he fouled out. Keatts pointed out that he’ll tell Hellems not to talk to the referees and leave that up to him.
Texas Southern led 39-37 after splitting the free throws following Hellems’ technical, but NCSU energized itself.
Seabron hit Hayes for a fast break layup, and then freshman wing Smith hit a corner three-pointer and NC State took a 47-41 lead with 11:39 left.
Hayes driving with a purpose was a welcome sight, after he went 4 of 16 against Oklahoma State in the previous game.
Keatts half-joked that he’s been having a spirited debate with Hayes on how to finish inside. He finished with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.
“Me and Cam Hayes, we just go back and forth,” Keatts said. “What we go back and forth with is it better to go off of two feet or one leg. I am almost there where I got him out of that Euro and one-leg fallaway. He took that shot 12 times last year, and guess how many he made? One. He is different [now]. He finished the game and made big shots for us.”
NC State kept driving toward the rim down the stretch, with Seabron and Hayes leading the way. NC State shot 14 of 27 after halftime for 51.9 percent, even though three-point shooting was less than ideal — 4 of 22 for the game.
“I thought we did an excellent job in the second half, limiting those guys to five [offensive rebounds],” Keatts said. “I told everybody when we played Colgate it was a tough team. Colgate had a great win on the road against Syracuse by 15. Texas Southern will compete for their championship in their league [SWAC]. They are older and know how to play, and the coach does a good job.”
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