NC State takes key step forward
The Wolfpack was tasked with improving upon its defense and showing more toughness.
NCSU proved its mettle in defeating visiting Pittsburgh 79-74 Tuesday evening at PNC Arena. The Panthers shot lights out for the first 12 minutes of the second half, but were nearly silent down the stretch offensively.
Pittsburgh senior forward Michael Young looked nearly unstoppable at times, and he made a a jumper to give the Panthers a 69-62 lead with 8:03 left.
“They have to learn how to win, and now we are down seven,” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “I thought it was important that you come back and win the game like that in the league.”
Pitt went 1 of 11 down the stretch, during which time Young was held scoreless en route to finishing with 25 points.
NC State (13-6 overall, 2-4 ACC) made a step in the right direction, and will get another chance to show what it has learned with a home game against Wake Forest at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“I’m proud of the way we competed and fought,” said fifth-year senior shooting guard Terry Henderson, who had 21 points and eight rebounds. “We had to play tough on defense and get those rebounds that we needed.”
NC State snapped its three-game losing streak and had to do it with a quick turnaround after losing to Georgia Tech on Sunday. The players watched film and had a limited but “fantastic” practice Monday. The team spent every minute working on defense.
“We just have to bring the energy at the start of the game,” Henderson said. “That has been one of our main problems this season.
“We had multiple discussion amongst each other. We had to understand what we needed to do to win.”
The losing streak also taught the players that they can’t count a win by how things “appear on paper.”
“Our guys are sometimes like the fans,” Gottfried said. “They look and say, ‘Oh, we should beat that team. We should beat them by 20. We’ll probably win that game and probably lose that game.’ They listen and they hear. They are people, too.”
Omer Yurtseven Cleans The Boards
NC State freshman center Omer Yurtseven recalled having Miami freshman shooting guard Bruce Brown blocking his shot in Coral Gables in his first ACC game. One could call it his welcome to the ACC moment.
Yurtseven now makes sure to dunk the basketball when he can, including one tying the game at 69-69 against Pittsburgh, during which he played with an overall aggressiveness that he lacked the first five ACC games when he totaled 17 points. The Istanbul, Turkey, native had 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds against the Panthers, setting the tone early in the first six minutes by corralling 10 boards, and it became clear that the Wolfpack were getting a different version compared to past showings.
Pittsburgh had just six offensive rebounds and the Wolfpack held a 44-30 advantage on the boards. Yurtseven also had eight offensive boards.
“The more rebounds you get, the more it motivates you for the next one,” Yurtseven said. “When you dunk, it energizes those plays. It keeps your energy up throughout the game.”
NCSU sophomore small forward Maverick Rowan quipped that Yurseven was on pace for 40 rebounds after the first 10 minutes of the game.
“He played great,” Rowan said.
Yurtseven remarked how he’s missed that competitiveness of just battling to the end. Junior power forward Abdul-Malik Abu was in constant foul trouble, and senior center BeeJay Anya wasn’t a good matchup against Young. Yurtseven came through in a must-win game.
“I had forgotten that feeling, and now it is coming back,” Yurtseven said. “I hope to keep this going.”
Yurtseven missed the first nine games due to an NCAA suspension and made his college debut against Appalachian State Dec. 16. He has early success against the likes of the Mountaineers, Fairfield and Rider. The ACC was a different level of competition for the listed 7-0, 245-pounder.
“It wasn’t really enough,” Yurtseven said about his first five league games. “I could have helped my team a lot. I felt like I let my team down. It was past the time to pick things up.”
Gottfried hopes his young center now understands how he can help the team.
“I got five kids and my children are between 19 and 25,” Gottfried said. “I think it’s easy to forget sometimes that these are young guys. Omer is 18 years old. We see this big 7-foot guy, and we forget that. He’s been feeling bad because he doesn’t think he’s playing well.
“I think tonight was important for his confidence. I think the other players got more confidence in him.”
Maverick Rowan Enjoys Playing Pittsburgh
Rowan verbally committed to hometown Pittsburgh on Jan. 2, 2014, but opened his recruitment up on Sept. 22, 2014.
Rowan has proven he enjoys playing against the Panthers in helping the Wolfpack to two wins since he arrived in Raleigh. Rowan went 6 of 9 from three-point land en route to 21 points Tuesday, and even sprung a bow and arrow routine after one big three-pointer. He went 4 of 6 on three-pointers for 14 points in last year’s 78-61 win on the road against Pitt.
“It’s always fun because they are a bunch of great guys — Chris Jones, Cameron Johnson, Sheldon Jeter,” Rowan said. “I know all those guys. I have a lot of love for the university and the city, but I am happy to beat them.”
Gottfried half-joked that he wishes Rowan could play Pittsburgh all the time. He also added that playing freshman point guards Markell Johnson and Dennis Smith Jr. together helped create some sweet spots on the floor for Rowan and Henderson.
“I think they zoned a lot and [Pitt head coach] Kevin [Stallings] has a short bench and tried to avoid foul trouble,” Gottfried said. “Dennis and Markell found those guys a lot. They looked for them and created shots for Maverick and Terry.”
Rowan drained his last three-pointer with 3:51 left, giving NC State a 72-71 lead. NCSU never trailed the rest of the way.
“We played great at the end,” Rowan said. “That shot gave us the lead and we just kept the lead. That was good for us.”
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