NC State overcame what could have been a devastating start of the game, but picked themselves off the mat and rallied to deliver the knockout blow.
NC State didn’t score during the first 5:22 of the game, trailing Penn State 11-0 to start the game. The scary part was it could have been worse, if the Nittany Lions were a tad sharper.
NCSU fifth-year senior Allerik Freeman finally got the Wolfpack on the board to break the drought with a pull-up jumper. Fellow graduate transfer Sam Hunt and freshman point guard Lavar Batts provided the much-needed spark off the bench to help the Wolfpack climb back into the game.
Once NC State recovered, the next step was to take control of the game. The one-two punch of sophomore center Omer Yurtseven and Freeman combined forces to help NC State win 85-78 over Penn State in front of 15,270 fans at PNC Arena. The Wolfpack did their part in helping the ACC dominate the Big Ten in the Challenge.
“If you look at the game, I thought we came out real flat for whatever reason,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought our guys held their composure and battled back in the game.
“I don’t have any plays when you are down 11-0.”
NC State didn’t just battle back into the game, but actually led 37-30 at halftime, giving the Wolfpack a big 18-point turnaround over the final 14-plus minutes of the first half.
Yurtseven helped carry the Wolfpack in the second half scoring 12 of his team-high 19 points after halftime. The 7-foot center was bombing from deep, finishing 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, but also coming up with 11 boards in the paint. He also was able to log 30 minutes without getting into foul trouble.
“He shot the heck out of the ball tonight and controlled the paint,” Hunt said. “He rebounded, blocked some shots and looked like a pro. It comes with time. We see it every day in practice.”
Yurtseven and Allerik Freeman’s offense was needed because Penn State sophomore point guard Tony Carr got loose in the second half in trying to keep the Nittany Lions afloat. Carr scored 20 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, but the Wolfpack defense did a quality job of keeping the other four starters in check. Carr was the lone Penn State player to make more than four field goals.
“Tony Carr is a really good basketball player and I knew it when I watched him on tape,” Keatts said. “Seeing him in person, he’s going to be special as a sophomore. I thought we did the best job we could on him.”
NC State was strongly motivated to not have three straight losses. The bitter taste of falling to Northern Iowa and Tennessee in the Bahamas put extra pressure on topping Penn State. The Nittany Lions are also the last Power Five Conference opponent until NC State opens up at Clemson in the ACC opener Dec. 30. The next five opponents are a combined 15-21, with 1-6 South Carolina State up next at 12 p.m. Saturday.
“We talked about the last couple of days getting well,” Keatts said. “I am a guy who believes in streaks. Certainly, I thought our guys responded.”
Veteran Sam Hunt provides spark
Hunt responded the way you’d hope a seasoned veteran would against Penn State.
The 6-2 lefty shooting guard came off the bench and drained four three-pointers to finish with 14 points in 23 minutes of action. The boost was badly needed and he showed that he’d shaken off the last two games in the Bahamas with three of his three-pointers coming in the first half.
Hunt lost his staring job to freshman point guard Braxton Beverly in the 67-58 loss against Tennessee and played a scoreless four minutes. He had also went scoreless in 14 minutes in the loss against Northern Iowa.
“Sam hadn’t played well the last couple of games, so give him credit,” Keatts said. “He played well this game and made shots.”
Hunt showed the same spark against Penn State that he had earlier in the season against Charleston Southern on Nov. 12, except the level of competition was much higher.
“It is about putting in the time and effort,” Hunt said. “Braxton Beverly came in for the Arizona game and he played great. He shot the ball well.
“I got my chance and I made a couple of shots.”
Wolfpack bench gets shortened
NC State was limited to nine scholarship players and played eight against Penn State.
The low number was due to sophomore power forward Darius Hicks suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice. Hicks didn’t play in any of the three games in the Bahamas, but did have a career-high 10 points and five boards in 12 minutes against Bryant on Nov. 14.
The other major injury note included senior power forward Abdul-Malik Abu missing the contest after aggravating his knee. He had missed the first four games of the season due to a grade two MCL sprain that he suffered in October. With NC State playing South Carolina State, Missouri-Kansas City, UNCG, Robert Morris and Jacksonville the next five games, the Wolfpack can be cautious with Abu.
“With Malik being out and Darius’ unfortunate situation, we decided to go big at time with Omer and Lennard [Freeman] on the floor, and they did a great job on the defensive end,” Keatts said.
Abu is listed as a “game-by-game” status by NC State. He returned to play all three games in the Bahamas, but wasn’t back to being 100 percent.
“If I have an athlete that doesn’t feel 100 percent, I’m not going to put him out there,” Keatts said. “He went to the doctor and is a little banged up. I wouldn’t call it a serious setback. In his mind, he wasn’t ready to play.”
The shortened rotation led to Allerik Freeman playing all 40 minutes, and redshirt junior Torin Dorn played extensively at power forward for 40 minutes. Dorn’s shooting was off, he went 2 of 11, but he came through with 12 rebounds, three blocks and helped hold Penn State sophomore power forward Lamar Stevens to 4 of 12 shooting for 13 points.
“I thought we did a really good job on Stevens,” Keatts said. “We did a great job on him making him make tough shots.”
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