Quick hits and notes from NC State’s 84-78 win over Hofstra during the first round of the NIT in front of sold-out (and loud) crowd of 5,500 fans at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.
Play of the game
The contest hung in the balance when NC State junior guard Markell Johnson drove through the (widened by experimental rule) lane and threw up a running shot while being fouled by Hofstra senior big man Jacquil Taylor. Johnson’s runner bounced high off the rim and in, and he made the free throw for a three-point play that put NC State up 83-78 with 19.4 seconds left.
Highlight of the game
Earlier in the contest, Johnson impressively flew through the lane and dunked in an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from redshirt junior wing C.J. Bryce. Johnson’s dunk was so emphatic that apparently he could not help but slap the backboard with both hands on the way down.
Fans and head coach Kevin Keatts were furious when Johnson was assessed a technical foul by official Tim Comer — Johnson was not T’d up for hanging on the rim, but rather slapping the backboard. Johnson admitted after the game he knew the technical was coming, and NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said that Johnson even apologized to him for the mistake.
Player of the game
The quick hits column could be renamed after Johnson on this night. He shot 9 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 7 on three-pointers, and had a team-high 26 points to go with five assists and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
Johnson was one point off his career-high set against Auburn earlier this season. He also continues to quietly be a sharpshooter. Johnson has now made 62 threes on the year and is shooting 41.1 percent from long range. Coming into the season, Johnson had made a combined total of 39 three-pointers during his first two years at NC State.
Survive and advance
This is the first time in Keatts’ tenure as a head coach that he has won a post-conference tournament game. He had gone 0-3 in NCAA Tournament action, losing twice at UNC Wilmington and once at NC State. Keatts quipped, however, this is the first time that he had been favored in a game.
Hofstra was not an easy out and showed how it won 27 games during the season and finished with a NET ranking of No. 76, a higher rating than the bottom six teams in the ACC. Its aggressive offense led by star senior guard Justin Wright-Foreman, who scored a game-high 29 points, pushed NC State to the final minute.
Up next NC State will host, at Reynolds again, the winner of the Harvard-Georgetown game that will be played Wednesday. The second round NIT game will be at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Double-double contributions
Johnson was far from the only star for NC State on this night. Bryce had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. That was Bryce’s sixth career double-double and the first in a Wolfpack uniform. It is also the first time at NC State that Bryce has collected double-digit rebounds.
He was also far more aggressive with his offense than he had been in recent games. He attempted 20 field goals, a season high which matched a career best. Bryce was 8 of 20 from the field. Prior to Tuesday, Bryce had attempted a combined seven shots in two games during the ACC Tournament.
Fifth-year senior wing Torin Dorn nearly had his own double-double. He made 9 of 17 shots from the field and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. One more rebound would have given Dorn his 15th career double-double.
Dominating the glass
One notable statistic that stood out Wednesday was rebounding. NC State outrebounded Hofstra 49-32 on the glass, including 19-9 on the offensive boards. That led to a monstrous 29-9 edge in second-chance points, which may have been the deciding factor in the game.
The 29 second-chance points and 20-point margin in that category were both season bests for NC State.
Lively atmosphere
There’s nothing quite like a game at Reynolds Coliseum, which fans will be able to enjoy again Sunday. Keatts said after the game with NC State director of athletics Debbie Yow standing nearby that he was going to need to talk to his boss about playing more games at the historic venue.
Yow quickly replied something to the effect of “Can’t afford it.” It also would not matter much because Yow is in her final weeks as NC State’s AD. Her replacement, Boo Corrigan, is set to assume duties May 1.
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, Hofstra 6
15:38-11:29: NC State 8, Hofstra 7
11:29-6:30: Hofstra 16, NC State 12
6:30-3:54: NC State 5, Hofstra 5
3:54-Halftime: Hofstra 8, NC State 6
Second half
20:00-15:34: NC State 12, Hofstra 6
15:34-11:01: NC State 9, Hofstra 7
11:01-7:58: NC State 7, Hofstra 7
7:58-3:58: NC State 9, Hofstra 6
3:58-Final: Hofstra 10, NC State 8
Game scores
Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average.
Johnson: 19.8
Dorn: 12.9
Bryce: 11.9
Sophomore guard Braxton Beverly: 7.3
Redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels: 4.6
Redshirt sophomore center DJ Funderburk: 3.2
Redshirt junior center Wyatt Walker: 3.2
Sophomore guard Blake Harris: 1.0
Freshman forward Jericole Hellems: -2.0
Fifth-year senior wing Eric Lockett: -0.8
Plus/minus
Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU.
• Dorn +13 (31 minutes played)
• Johnson +13 (26)
• Walker +10 (16)
• Beverly +8 (32)
• Bryce +5 (35)
• Harris +5 (4)
• Funderburk -4 (25)
• Hellems -4 (1)
• Daniels -8 (25)
• Lockett -8 (5)
What the win means
The Pack improves to 23-11 while Hofstra finishes 27-8. The Pack leads the all-time series 3-0, but this was the first game decided by single digits. This is the 10th time in 12 NIT appearances that NC State has avoided being one-and-done.
This season, NC State is 12-8 in night games (tips after 6 p.m.) and 11-8 on weekday contests. NC State is now 3-8 when trailing at the break (Pack was down 42-39).
The game was broadcast on ESPN2. During the season, we’ll keep track of how NC State does on the various networks.
- ACC Network Extra: 6-0
- ESPNU: 3-0
- RSN: 5-1
- Raycom: 6-5
- ESPN2: 3-3
- ESPN: 1-3
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
- November: 6-1
- December: 6-0
- January: 4-4
- February: 4-3
- March: 3-3
Other stats of note
• NC State had a 42-32 edge in points in the paint.
• Hofstra had a 15-11 win in fast-break points.
• Defensively, NC State had four blocks and two steals, including the first blocked shot of Beverly’s career. The Pride had seven steals to go with six rejections.
• Hofstra won the turnover margin 11-9, but the Pack had a 15-13 edge in points off turnovers.
• NC State led for 22:38, Hofstra for 13:02 and the game was tied for 4:20. The Pack’s largest lead was nine and Hofstra’s was seven.
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