NC State coach Kevin Keatts was generally concerned if the lengthy layoff would affect his team negatively.
The Wolfpack went from Feb. 16-22 without any games, getting three days off during that stretch.
The remnants of NC State’s impressive win at Georgia Tech were long forgotten Wednesday against Boston College. A poor second half doomed the Wolfpack, who never found their stride in a 69-61 loss to the Eagles.
NC State fell to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the ACC, and host North Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday in the last home game of the season. Boston College improved to 11-16 overall and 6-11 in the league.
NC State struggled to get any offensive flow, which was reflected in having eight assists and 18 turnovers. BC had a 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
“I thought our guys played hard, but it’s going to be hard to beat anybody when you turn the ball over 18 times,” Keatts said. “My problems with turnovers is, I just don’t like turnovers for touchdowns.”
NC State came out flat to begin the game and Boston College took advantage. If it wasn’t big 7-foot center Quinten Post in the lane, then it was power forward James Karnik floating around. Both finished the first half with eight points apiece and they combined for seven rebounds and a block.
NC State trailed 14-4 early, and were down by as many as 11 points with 7:03 left in the first half. However, Seabron started to get cooking.
Keatts has been asking for star guard Dereon Seabron to play as well in the first half as he normally does in the second. Seabron got the message loud and clear and he dominated with drive-after-drive and got to the free-throw line. He even sprinkled in a three-pointer. Seabron scored 17 first-half points, and BC’s big lead vanished to just 33-31 at halftime.
NCSU also had to overcome star sophomore shooting guard Terquavion Smith getting into foul trouble. He exited with 15:59 left in the first half and didn’t go back in until six minutes were left. He promptly scored seven points and junior wing Casey Morsell added a three-pointer in the midst of a 13-3 Wolfpack run.
The key for the second half was presumably finding a third scorer to complement Seabron and Smith. Senior Jericole Hellems was cold in the first half as part of the “Big Three.” He never got going after halftime, but neither did Seabron, who finished with 20.
“Seabron was great in the first half, which is different than he has been before,” Keatts said. “He has had some great games for us, but we haven’t seen the game where he has been great both halves.”
Smith had 14 of his 21 points after halftime and he set a new NC State record for most three-pointers as a freshman. He went 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and has made 83 on the season. He broke Maverick Rowan’s mark of 81 three-pointers made as a freshman.
“I thought Terquavion Smith was really good as he has been all year,” Keatts said.
Instead, Post continued to go about his business in using his 7-0 size. Whether layups inside or mid-range jumpers, he racked up 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting for the Eagles.
“We have a problem guarding one post, let alone two,” Keatts said. “Our guys are fighting their [butt] off.”
Post made a jumper and then guard Jaeden Zackery got an easy layup and BC surged to a 57-44 lead with 6:48 remaining. That capped a 20-5 Eagles run.
“When you have 18 turnovers, you really aren’t putting yourself in position to win,” Smith said. “Most of our turnovers were careless and loose with the ball. It just isn’t going our way. I’ll stay confident.
“I won’t change. It means everything to come here and break the record. This is my dream school, so it means a lot to me to come in and do that.”
Zackery complemented the post players with 16 points and he went 3 of 5 from three-point land. The Eagles shot 54.2 percent from the field after halftime and had a crucial 38-26 points in the paint advantage.
Conversely, NCSU shot 42.6 percent from the field and no other player had more than eight points other than Smith and Seabron.
NC State also likely lost senior guard Thomas Allen for the season after he injured his foot during his two-minute stint in the first half. The Wolfpack have Senior Day on Saturday.
“It doesn’t look good,” Keatts said. “I don’t anticipate him playing on Saturday.”
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