Quick hits and notes from NC State Wolfpack basketball’s 76-73 loss to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Sunday evening.
Play Of The Game
The game was tied 65-65 with approaching five minutes left, but that is when Syracuse made two key, unanswered baskets that gave it the cushion (and its largest lead of the game) that it needed to outlast the Wolfpack.
NC State had a chance to take a lead, but freshman guard Shakeel Moore missed his jumper. On the following possession, Syracuse 6-foot-5 freshman guard Kadary Richmond, who routinely was able to get to the basket in his limited playing time, took advantage of his size to get a shot near the rim with 5:00 left and put the Orange up for good at 67-65.
After a Moore turnover, Syracuse junior wing Buddy Boeheim connected on a three-pointer that gave the Orange a five-point lead with 4:14 to go.
Highlight Of The Game
Player Of The Game
Richmond was probably not a guy on a lot of Wolfpack fans' radar entering Sunday, but he made several key plays off the bench for Syracuse in its win.
His ability to drive and use his height in the lane stopped NC State's first half momentum when the Wolfpack had built up a double-digit lead. With the Pack leading 38-28 and 2:33 remaining before halftime, Richmond scored eight of the Orange's final 10 points of the half and ended a stretch in which the Pack had outscored Syracuse 21-8 over the previous almost nine minutes.
Richmond scored three more times in the paint in the second half, twice giving Syracuse a lead with his baskets, and the third time extending a one-point advantage to three points with 1:18 left.
He made 6 of 7 shots from the field and both of his free throws for 14 points in just 16 minutes. It is only the fourth time this year and second in ACC play that he reached double-digits in points. His only higher output was 16 points in a win over Niagara in game No. 2 for the Orange.
Seabron Steps Up In First Game Without Daniels (And Funderburk)
The big news before the game was that fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk would not be available for what was termed a university policy. Head coach Kevin Keatts said he learned of the news upon leaving for Syracuse and has no timetable on a potential return to the court.
Of course, the Pack already knew it would be playing without fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels, who tore his ACL in a win over Wake Forest earlier in the week. Daniels was NC State's leading scorer and all-conference contender, while Funderburk is its second-leading scorer.
How did the minutes play out in their absence?
The notable difference is that redshirt freshman wing Dereon Seabron received more time, logging 17 minutes off the bench. Only once, when he played 22 minutes in a home win over Campbell, has Seabron had more playing time in a game this year.
In fact, only once in the past five games had Seabron even received double digits in minutes, and in the loss at UNC on Jan. 23, he did not even get off the bench.
Seabron responded with a career-high nine points, making 4 of 8 shots from the field and 1 of 3 three-pointers. He also added two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot without turning it over before fouling out with 4.9 seconds left.
Veterans Playing More
The other noteworthy observation on playing time is that the four remaining veterans — senior guard Braxton Beverly, junior forward Jericole Hellems, redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen and redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates — were all on the court for at least 36 minutes.
Hellems responded with a career high of 24 points to go with nine rebounds, narrowly missing what would have been his first double-double.
Bates did get there with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. That was a career-high in rebounds and ACC-high in scoring. It is his second double-double. He also moved past Cozell McQueen into seventh-place all-time at NC State in career blocks with 124.
Beverly made 4 of 8 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, for 11 points and added four assists without turning it over. Allen had six points, although he was just 1 of 6 from the field and 1 of 5 on threes. He also had three assists and no turnovers.
Allen is just 1 of 11 on three-pointers in the last three games.
Hayes/Moore struggle
The hope going forward is that freshmen guards Cam Hayes and Moore can step up in the absence of Daniels, but the two were off on Sunday evening.
Hayes missed all three of his shot attempts, all of them three-pointers, and made 1 of 2 free throws for a point to go with four assists, three rebounds, a steal and two turnovers.
Hayes is just 6 of 27 from the field in his last five games, including 1 of 10 in the last three. In his first five games, Hayes had shot 20 of 38 from the field.
Moore was 2-of-8 shooting, including 1 of 5 on threes, for five points but also turned it over three times.
Scoring Between Official Timeouts
Here we keep track of the scoring between each official timeout to help give an idea of the game flow:
First half
20:00-15:18: NC State 11, Syracuse 11
15:18-11:28: Syracuse 9, NC State 6
11:28-7:08: NC State 12, Syracuse 6
7:08-2:33: NC State 9, Syracuse 2
2:33-Halftime: Syracuse 10, NC State 9
Second half
20:00-14:46: Syracuse 12, NC State 6
14:46-9:51: Syracuse 8, NC State 3
9:51-7:43: NC State 5, Syracuse 3
7:43-4:14: Syracuse 8, NC State 4
4:14-Final: NC State 8, Syracuse 6
What The Loss Means
NC State falls to 7-6 overall and 3-5 in the ACC while Syracuse is 10-5 and 4-4. The Wolfpack is now 1-5 away from home (0-5 in true road contests) and 4-4 in night games (tipoff after 6 p.m.). NC State is 1-3 in weekend contests.
Syracuse leads the all-time series against NC State, 8-6, and is 5-3 in games played in the Dome. Keatts lost for the first time in four games against the Orange.
This game was televised on ACC Network. Throughout the year we will keep track of the Pack's record on the different channels:
• ESPNU: 1-0
• ACC Network: 5-3
• RSN: 1-2
• ESPN: 1-0
We will also track NC State’s records by month:
• November: 2-0
• December: 4-1
• January: 1-5
Other Stats Of Note
• NC State won the points in the paint, 40-36.
• The Pack had a 14-8 edge in fast break points.
• Both teams had 14 points from the bench.
• Syracuse won the turnover margin, 11-10, but NC State had a slight edge in points off turnovers, 12-11.
• NC State won on the boards 37-35 in overall rebounds and 13-11 on the offensive glass. That led to an 13-8 second-chance points win for the Wolfpack.
• Defensively, NC State had five blocks and seven steals. Syracuse also had five blocks and added nine steals.
• NC State’s largest lead was 11 points and it led for 21:59. Syracuse's largest advantage was five points and it led for 13:46. There were seven ties and 19 lead changes.
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