Quick hits and notes from NC State basketball ’s 82-81 overtime, season-opening loss to Georgia Tech in front of 17,133 fans at PNC Arena Tuesday evening.
Play of the Game
NC State had the chance to put the game almost on ice. Redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels stole a pass from Georgia Tech junior guard Jose Alvarado with about 18 seconds left, but Daniels, rather than holding the ball as he sprinted past half court, tried a dangerous pass to redshirt freshman center Manny Bates.
Bates could not handle it and turned it over back to Alvarado. Alvarado’s pull-up three missed, but the rebound eventually found GT senior big man James Banks III who was fouled by Daniels with 2.1 seconds left.
Banks made both free throws to give Georgia Tech an 82-81 win.
Highlight of the Game
Player of the Game
When Banks picked up his fourth foul with 9:15 left in the game, the score was tied 57-57. Less than two minutes later, Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner put Banks right back in because NC State had gone up 65-59 in his absence.
Without Raleigh-native and junior forward Moses Wright, who had fouled out with 10:05 left in regulation, GT was left with only Banks inside, but he delivered. Banks played the final 12:37 of the contest with four fouls and finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.
And for the second straight year in Raleigh he made a game-winner in the final seconds.
NC State's Player of the Game
Between the 4:25 and 2:42 marks in the second half, NC State fifth-year senior guard C.J. Bryce made three straight huge shots to keep giving the Wolfpack a three-point lead.
Bryce, in the absence of senior guard Markell Johnson and redshirt junior center DJ Funderburk (more below), was the center of attention for NCSU and responded. He had 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting, utilizing his mid-range game effectively, and added 11 rebounds for his second career double-double in a Wolfpack uniform. Bryce also had three double-doubles during his sophomore season at UNC Wilmington.
The only negative to Bryce’s night: a game-high seven turnovers. But for a cold-shooting Pack team that shot just 38.0 percent from the field, Bryce was the only Wolfpack player to make more than half his shot attempts from the field.
A Clear Rotation May Be Forming
NC State played this game without two of its probable starters in Johnson and Funderburk. Johnson, an All-ACC candidate, sprained an ankle late-last week, and his status for Sunday’s home contest against Detroit Mercy is uncertain. Funderburk is continuing to serve an indefinite suspension, but conventional wisdom is that he will return sooner rather than later.
When Johnson and Funderburk return, based on Tuesday’s contest head coach Kevin Keatts is probably going to be playing an eight-man rotation. Keatts played eight players Tuesday, but fifth-year senior center Danny Dixon (6:55 of playing time) and redshirt sophomore forward A.J. Taylor (2:47) saw limited action in an overtime game.
With Johnson and Funderburk available, those two could see playing time when needed in a pinch.
Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems played effective minutes off the bench (32:20) and had 15 points and four rebounds. That was one off Hellems’ career high and a new best for him in an ACC game. He scored on double-digits once last year in a conference game. Hellems will surely continue to be part of the regular rotation.
The only question is what will be the configuration of the starting lineup and bench.
Spotted At The Game
Former NC State players Ernie Myers and Chucky Brown were in attendance. Also there were two NC State commits: four-star guard Cam Hayes from Greensboro (N.C.) Day School and three-star forward Nick Farrar from Apex (N.C.) Friendship High.
The men’s golf team was also honored during one timeout.
Scoring Between Official Timeouts
This year we have kept track of the scoring between each official timeout to help give an idea of the game flow:
First half
20:00-15:38: NC State 8, Georgia Tech 4
15:38-11:49: NC State 16, Georgia Tech 8
11:49-7:54: Georgia Tech 6, NC State 4
7:54-3:45: NC State 11, Georgia Tech 6
3:45-Halftime: Georgia Tech 11, NC State 3
Second half
20:00-15:59: Georgia Tech 8, NC State 6
15:59-11:53: Georgia Tech 8, NC State 5
11:53-7:38: NC State 12, Georgia Tech 8
7:38-3:22: Georgia Tech 9, NC State 6
3:22-Final: Georgia Tech 7, NC State 4
Overtime:
Georgia Tech 7, NC State 6
Player scores
Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average.
Bryce: 16.7
Senior forward Pat Andree: 13.1
Hellems: 9.4
Daniels: 8.9
Sophomore guard Braxton Beverly: 7.8
Dixon: 1.8
Taylor: -0.1
Bates: -0.6
Plus/minus
Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU.
• Dixon +6 (6:55 played)
• Andree +4 (35:56)
• Hellems +4 (32:20)
• Beverly +2 (36:42)
• Bryce -1 (44:09)
• Taylor -4 (2:47)
• Daniels -6 (33:54)
• Bates -10 (32:17)
What The Loss Means
The Pack’s loses for just the second time in the last 26 season openers. It leads the all-time series with Georgia Tech 57-41, but the Jackets have won five of the last six. GT is also now 14-13 in games played in Raleigh after winning its fourth straight game at PNC Arena. NC State has not beaten Georgia Tech at home since 2014.
The game was broadcast on ACC Network. During the season, we’ll keep track of how NC State does on the various networks.
- ACC Network: 0-1
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
- November: 0-1
Other Stats Of Note
• Georgia Tech had a 36-26 edge in points in the paint.
• In a fast-paced game, the Yellow Jackets had a 23-17 edge in fast break points.
• NC State won the battle on the boards overall 41-37 and offensively 16-8 (partially due to GT shooting 50.0 percent and NCSU 38.0 percent). State outscored the Jackets 8-4 in second chance points.
• NC State won the turnover margin 18-12, but both teams had 15 points off turnovers.
• Defensively, NC State had six blocks (five of them by Bates), altered eight shots and nabbed five steals. Georgia Tech had eight blocks, six altered shots and nine steals.
• NC State led for 35:50, Georgia Tech for 3:52 (all of it in overtime) and the game was tied for 5:18. The Pack’s largest lead was 15 and Georgia Tech’s was three. NC State never led that long and lost a game all last season.
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