NC State dominates Louisville down stretch
NC State shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to make sure there was no drama down the stretch Wednesday.
The Wolfpack made 12 three-pointers to roll past Louisville 79-63 on the road. NC State improved to 9-8 overall and 2-4 in the ACC and play at Duke on Saturday. Louisville fell to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the league.
The win avenged a 73-68 loss to Louisville on Dec. 4 in Raleigh.
“We are getting better and we are fighting,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “Every day, guys are starting to play a little bit better.
“I was excited about our play tonight.”
The symbolic moment came when Louisville shooter Noah Locke missed a free throw with 3:44 left, and NC State senior forward Jericole Hellems came down and drained a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 69-58 with 3:16 left. Hellems finished with 19 points and six rebounds, and made 5 of 7 from three-point land.
“I’ve always put in the work whether my shot is going in or not,” Hellems said. “I put a lot on my shoulders mentally and try and figure out things that I can do to help the team, whether scoring, defending or rebounding.
“A win is always lovely.”
Keatts praised Hellems for “playing like a senior.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better player in our program,” Keatts said. “There may not be another kid in the program that will be there from freshman to his senior year. At this level, you play well enough to go to the NBA early, whether you are ready or not. Or you don’t play and end up transferring.”
Having a 11-point lead was new territory for the Wolfpack, which has struggled putting teams away in the last five minutes of games.
NC State didn’t have to worry about the closing stretch Wednesday, thanks to plays like that, which has been a problem since the Purdue loss. All the issues that have cropped up over losing six of the last seven games evaporated against Louisville. Whatever could go right, went right in the second half.
Freshman wing Terquavion Smith scored 15 of his 24 points after halftime, and redshirt sophomore forward Dereon Seabron had 13 of 15 points in the second half.
“[Smith] is one of those players that loves basketball, so he’s going to give 100 percent whether his shot is going in or not,” Hellems said.
Smith didn’t need long against Louisville to shake off going 0 of 7 against Clemson on Saturday.
“Baby T was spectacular,” Keatts said.
NC State only struggle came against Louisville backup center Sydney Curry. He exploded for 22 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes, and he shot 10 of 13 from the field.
NC State got crushed 52-7 on bench points, but the Wolfpack battled to hold a 36-34 advantage for points in the paint. Keatts was not happy about Clemson crushing NCSU in the paint on Saturday.
Keatts was also encouraged by freshman post player Ernest Ross, who had four points, five rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.
“Give a lot of credit to Ernest Ross,” Keatts said. “I thought he came in and turned the game around with his energy and he played hard.
“That position is not set and he has continued to get better. It isn’t his natural position, but because of our situation, he has to play there. There is a possibility we can see him in the starting lineup at times.”
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