Notre Dame made a strong move in the second half and then made just enough shots down the stretch to maintain it.
Notre Dame junior stretch four Nate Laszewski took advantage of some favorable matchups and bombed away for 4 of 5 from three-point land en route to 18 points in the Fighting Irish’s 73-65 win Wednesday. He also grabbled 11 rebounds and a key block for Notre Dame, which has won nine of its last 10 games to improve to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in the ACC.
NC State fell to 10-11 overall and 3-7 in the league, and play at North Carolina on Saturday.
“I don’t think we were sharp or playing the way we’ve been playing on the offensive end,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said.
Laszewski’s signature stretch came early in the second half to spark a 15-0 run. NC State junior wing Casey Morsell hit a 3-pointer to give the Wolfpack a 35-30 lead with 17:34 remaining. Laszewski responded with back-to-back three-pointers and a drive down the middle for a dunk. Teammate Dane Goodwin got into the act with a layup and then Laszewski blocked a shot and hit another three-pointer. Notre Dame led 43-35 with 14:47 left.
“We lost them a couple of times and I thought they had a stretch where Laszewski really went off,” Keatts said.
The Notre Dame lead eventually grew to 10, but the Wolfpack made its move. Morsell hit a step-back three-pointer to cut it to 49-46 with 10:16 remaining. However, Goodwin drained a three-pointer to answer it and Notre Dame was back on track and eventually built the lead back up to 10 points.
NC State got within five points with 2:37 left, but never got closer.
Part of it was Notre Dame shooting 39.3 percent from three-point land [11 of 28], which made up for the Fighting Irish struggling on two-pointers [11 of 29]. NC State went 6 of 19 from beyond the arc.
“I thought our guys did a good job of fighting and clawing, but you look at the stat sheet, the major difference is they went 11 for 28 from the three-point line,” Keatts said. “They obviously was able to get to the free-throw line 24 times [making 18].”
Goodwin added 17 points and Notre Dame had four players in double figures. The Fighting Irish forced 13 turnovers and had a 20-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
NC State redshirt sophomore star guard Dereon Seabron had 21 points and eight rebounds, and four players also reached double figures. Two fouled out — junior wing Morsell and senior power forward Jericole Hellems — but they combined for 24 points. Morsell exited the first half with two fouls for the final 16:48.
“A couple of things hurt us in the first half; Casey Morsell going out with two fouls,” Keatts said. “He only had a chance to play three minutes.”
Sophomore point guard Cam Hayes had 10 points in 25 minutes off the bench with Morsell battling foul troubles. He had been 9 of 50 from the field since the Richmond game Dec. 17 and lost his starting position to first Thomas Allen and now Morsell.
“I was happy to see the ball go in the hole for Cam,” Keatts said. “Through this process, he’s lost his confidence a little bit. He has worked harder in practice to get it back. He has done extra shooting every day.”
NC State made 12 of its first 20 three-point attempts against Virginia on Saturday. The long bombs weren’t going the Wolfpack’s way at Notre Dame.
“Going into halftime, it was even 30-30, so we were guarding them good,” Hayes said. “We just weren’t hitting shots. Our main focus was to guard the three-point line tonight.”
NCSU also had to overcome freshman wing Terquavion Smith going cold. The streaky shooter went 1 of 9 for four points and four turnovers. Keatts knows the Wolfpack revolve around the “Big Three” of Seabron, Hellems and Smith, who combined for 39 points. The Wolfpack’s younger players struggled on the road.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think our ‘Big Three’ had a great game,” Keatts said. “That being said, I thought we had our chances in the game.”
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
