NC State was hungry for a win and knew losing its ACC opener against Florida State had to be avoided Saturday.
The Wolfpack entered the game on a three-game losing streak — vs. Purdue and BYU in San Diego, Calif., and vs. Texas at home.
NC State definitely made it interesting, but came through with a 84-74 overtime victory against Florida State at the Lenovo Center. It might be early December, but the game felt like a must-win opportunity for a Wolfpack team that is trying to find itself.
NC State trailed 66-60 with 3:44 left in regulation, so it didn’t come easy against the 7-3 Seminoles.
“What a great game and a great win,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “We were at home and it was the first ACC game in early December, and I thought our guys responded and answered the bell.
“This team needed an early win together. We hadn’t one, this particular group.”
An early story line was which players would step up for NC State and carry the offensive line load, and who would emerge to help Florida State senior forward Jamir Watkins.
Keatts isn’t quite sure what he will get from his starting five each game, and is aiming for game-to-game rhythm.
NC State seniors Dontrez Styles and Marcus Hill carried the torch Saturday. Styles, who played previously at Georgetown and North Carolina, found a smooth offensive rhythm and was able to create good looks at the basket. He was able to nearly match Watkins in points, not that was his goal, but he had 21 points and made three three-pointers, and battled some foul trouble.
“Just being confident in the work I put in and just going out there and just showing it,” Styles said.
Styles scored 7 of the Wolfpack’s last 10 points in regulation to propel the comeback.
“He was good in the second half of the Texas game, and what I asked these guys is give me some consistency,” Keatts said. “I thought he was huge tonight and made plays-after-plays.”
Hill, a Bowling Green transfer at shooting guard, showed his vintage style of game by being relentless getting to the rim. He hit just enough jumpers to keep FSU’s defense honest. He had 23 points and six rebounds, and went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
“Both of those guys in San Diego were three of 12,” Keatts said. “Both of those guys the last two games have been really good for us.”
Senior shooting guard Jayden Taylor added 14 points and the Wolfpack shot 51.9 percent from the field. NCSU also had a 21-9 advantage in points of turnovers against the Seminoles.
Watkins proved to be problematic for NC State’s defense from the jump. He’d create mismatches and that would lead to fouls. That proved to be a game-long theme and he finished with a game-high 24 points and went 16 of 17 from the free-throw line. The former Virginia Commonwealth transfer is the one player that FSU can rely on, game-in and game-out.
What proved surprising was how effect junior center Malique Ewin proved to be around the basket. The 6-foot-11 Ewin was originally recruited and signed with Ole Miss, and that was aided by current NC State assistant coach Levi Watkins. Ewin ended up at Scotch Plains Junior College in Texas last year, and signed with Florida State.
Ewin proved a difficult cover and went 11 of 14 from the field for 23 points and nine rebounds.
The game changed after he fouled out with 1:51 left and FSU leading 68-66. FSU didn’t have a second player emerge to help out Watkins.
“Ewin, I thought he did a tremendous job,” Keatts said. “He was scoring the basketball and rebounding the basketball. I thought he fouled out of the game, they lost some of their scoring and rebounding inside.”
Styles scored five straight points in overtime and Hill added eight points in the extra session to help put the game away. The Wolfpack outscored the Seminoles 14-4.
“We just kept going,” Styles said. “It wasn't easy. We went through adversity, but we just kept going and we closed as a unit.”
NC State also got what could be hidden points, with two big three-pointers by senior guard Breon Pass to beat the shot clock, and a deep three-pointer from Styles with the clock winding down.
“I just told him before that this was the Trez that I’ve seen all my life,” Pass said. “I was happy for my brother, to see him shine like this.”
Every point proved important in a game that went to overtime.
“I feel like they were shots that I have been taking all the time,” Pass said. “They went in tonight for me. They were very important for the team.”
NC State’s needed the extra juice after getting six points from the center position and 14 points off the bench. NCSU senior center Ben Middlebrooks got the start and had four points and four rebounds, but was an impressive plus-25 in 27 minutes scored.
NC State senior center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was not a factor in 18 minutes off the bench with two points and three rebounds. Keatts said he was benched due to being tardy for a team activity Friday.
Florida State veteran coach Leonard Hamilton could see how his team wasn’t ready to win such a close game.
“That is who we are right now,” Hamilton said. “That is the way we’ve been basically the whole year. I think this team has enough talent to be successful. We’ve fallen short a little bit on the execution.”
NC State returns to action Dec. 10 against Coppin State at historic Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack have three non-conference games remaining.
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