NC State needed a “get healthy” game and Georgia Tech provided it.
The Wolfpack were mired in a six-game losing streak, but came out aggressive early and produced a big first half Tuesday. The second half wasn’t pretty, but NC State cruised to a 76-61 victory over Georgia Tech thanks to 26 points from freshman shooting guard Terquavion Smith.
NCSU improved to 11-16 overall and 4-12 in the ACC, and have a nice break until playing Boston College on Feb. 23. Georgia Tech fell to 10-15 overall and 3-11 in the league.
“It’s probably our best half we played in the first half where I thought we shared the ball with each other and then we were really, really good defensively,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “We were stingy. We've had moments throughout the season — even though our record don't indicate it — we played well enough to win. Certainly, we found a way to win.”
NC State zipped out to a 10-0 lead and that foreshadowed the rest of the half. Between Smith bombing away and a spark from sophomore point guard Cam Hayes off the bench, the Wolfpack lead just kept growing and growing. All the frustration of a season playing short-handed, yet being competitive in nearly each game poured out.
Hayes hit a three-pointer and then Smith drained back-to-back three-pointers during a 9-2 run that stretched it to 28-8. The lead grew in the first half to a dominating 26 points and the Wolfpack cruised into halftime leading 51-25. It was truly uncharted territory for NC State, who shot a blistering 8 of 14 from three-point land in the first half.
Smith poured in 18 points and had seven rebounds, and Hayes chipped in 12 points in 10 minutes off the bench. Hayes finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
“We played very well on the road and I thought my young fellow, my freshmen, was really good,” Keatts said. “He was talented tonight and made good plays in the first half. What a good road win.”
Smith had been in a slump the last two games, but quickly made it clear that Tuesday was going to be his night.
“If it wasn't for [Paolo] Banchero at Duke, he would probably be the freshman of the year in this league,” Keatts said. “He’s talented. I’ve got a good one at NC State. He doesn’t know that he isn’t supposed to be good.”
Conversely, not much was going right for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 1 of 10 from three-point land and had nine turnovers in the first half.
The script completely changed in the second half, but due to NC State’s commanding lead — which grew to 59-29 with 17:27 left — the stress level was kept in check.
Smith got into foul trouble and went to the bench with 14:45 left. The Wolfpack went chilly cold in the second half — zero field goals over the final 7:08 — but the Yellow Jackets didn’t have the firepower to make much of a dent. NC State shot 7 of 30 from the field and 3 of 15 on three-pointers after halftime. Even worse, the Pack shot 1 of 15 down the stretch, and missed their last 10 field-goal attempts.
Georgia Tech still trailed by 19 points after senior forward Jericole Hellems made a pair of free throws, essentially putting the game on ice barring something flush.
Keatts said one of the goals was not to allow Georgia Tech to set-up defensively. He didn’t want the game to be in the 60s.
“Our emphasis was, and one of our keys offensively, is try to rebound the ball and try to get out so they couldn’t set up,” Keatts said. “It worked.”
Keatts was able to use the second half to teach his young squad what he was looking from them.
“A lot of things that we work on in practice hasn't translated because those guys just don't have enough game experience,” Keatts said.
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