Notebook: NC State struggled to get over hump
The national stage was set with two top-15 teams squaring off in front of a sold out PNC Arena.
The Associated Press ranked North Carolina at No. 12 in the country, and NC State was three spots behind at No. 15. The crowd was ready to be in a frenzy Tuesday night, but UNC adeptly found a way to dominate the first 3:23 of the game.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 12-0 lead, which eventually mushroomed to 19-5 with 13:36 left in the first half. NC State battled back, but never led once in the 90-82 Tar Heels victory. It wasn’t the kind of start the Wolfpack expected while falling to 13-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
“They did that to us first,” redshirt sophomore center DJ Funderburk noted about North Carolina hitting the Wolfpack in the proverbial mouth to start the game. “We just tried to battle back and came up short.”
NC State struggled to generate offense down the stretch and couldn’t replicate the second-half magic that helped the Wolfpack rally from 10 points down against Miami on Jan. 3.
“We had a little bit of turnovers and we didn’t execute down the line,” Funderburk said. “That led to the loss.”
NCSU needed a monster 21-point performance off the bench from sophomore guard Braxton Beverly to keep the Wolfpack within striking difference after the unfortunate start. He finished with a new career high for points and went 5 of 7 on three-pointers to tie his previous top mark from beyond the arc.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Beverly said. “Collectively, from top to bottom, there are some things we could all do better.
“We were right there but couldn’t get over that last hump.”
NC State tied the game twice, including at 53-53 with 16:54 left in the game, but North Carolina always seemed to respond well to the adversity.
NCSU appeared to receive a huge break with 11:58 left when UNC fifth-year senior forward Cameron Johnson exited the game with cramps. He never returned and finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in just 23 minutes of action, but the damage was done with the Tar Heels holding onto a 68-64 lead en route to the 90-82 final.
“Our coach told us, 82 points can get us a lot of wins on offense, but we need to get defensive stops,” Funderburk said.
UNC shot 10 of 25 on three-pointers, with Johnson hitting 4 of 7 before he exited the game.
“We have to do a better job of cleaning up some of the mistakes that we made,” NCSU head coach Kevin Keatts said.
NC State will cary the positives of outscoring UNCs’ bench 43-9 thanks to 21 points from Beverly and 15 from Funderburk. The Wolfpack also forced 23 turnovers by the Tar Heels.
“We don’t really take moral victories,” Funderburk said.
DJ Funderburk provides spark off bench
Funderburk proved to be the Pack's most athletic big man on the court against North Carolina.
The lanky 6-foot-10, 210-pounder sparked the Wolfpack in the first half with 13 points and four rebounds in 11 minutes, helping to keep the game competitive. Funderburk was in the wrong place at the wrong time in having a UNC player roll into his legs from behind with 1:23 left in the first half.
“He has a lot of talent,” Beverly said. “He played really hard and it really shows. It shows what he can do for us.”
Funderburk still started the second half, but he said he wasn’t 100 percent healthy. He finished with two points and a rebound in 11 second-half minutes to finish with 15 points and five boards. He was one point away from his career-high at NC State.
“I thought DJ was great, and I thought he was really active,” Keatts said. “I thought he was a presence down low.”
Funderburk and the Wolfpack got a taste of a filled-up PNC Arena in the win over Auburn on Dec. 19, but the crowd of 19,500 was even more into it Tuesday.
“I liked the crowd and what they did out there for us,” Funderburk said. “They helped us out as much as they could, but we got to execute.”
UNC wins battle of boards
NC State got crushed 51-33 on the boards, which was in sharp contrast to last Thursday’s game against Miami. NCSU dominated a taller Miami squad with a 51-29 advantage. Even though NC State might not have more than one player taller than 6-7 on the court, the Wolfpack have won the battle of the boards in 11 of its first 14 games this season.
UNC’s Johnson, shooting guard Kenny Williams and post player Luke Maye all had double-figure rebounds, and combined for 32 of the team's 51 boards. North Carolina also held a 14-10 advantage on the offensive boards.
NC State fifth-year senior forward Torin Dorn had 10 rebounds, but the rest of the starting lineup combined for just nine of the Pack's 33 total.
“I didn’t get the rebounding from the Torin Dorns, C.J. Bryces [three rebounds] and Devon Daniels [two rebounds],” Keatts said. “We typically have DJ or Wyatt [Walker] end up with anywhere from 7-11 rebounds [they combined for nine].
“We also have all of our 6-5 guys do a great job rebounding, but they beat us to some balls.”
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