John Joyner
Junior guard Desmond Lee takes a contested shot during the game against Maryland in PNC Arena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2013. Photo by John Joyner.
In a tight contest, the N.C. State men’s basketball team defeated Maryland on Monday by a score of 65-56. The win was a welcome birthday present for Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried, who turned 50 years old on Monday.
Entering the contest, the Wolfpack (12-7, 2-4 ACC) was coming off its largest defeat of the season: a 35-point beat-down at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils. The Terrapins (11-8, 3-3 ACC) were coming off of an eight-point victory over Notre Dame to pull themselves above .500 in ACC play.
Just before the start of the game, Gottfried announced that star sophomore forward T.J. Warren would be out for the game due to an ankle sprain. Redshirt junior guard Ralston Turner got the starting nod in Warren’s absence.
Turner did his best to fill the shoes of the ACC’s leader scorer, scoring the first two buckets of the night for the Pack and helping his team jump out to a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes.
Maryland quickly answered State’s hot start with an 8-0 run of their own. The Terps continued their onslaught into the halftime break, taking a 29-20 lead with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from sophomore guard Jake Layman.
As a team, State struggled from the field in the first half, making only six of its 27 shot attempts. The Pack was especially awful from downtown, missing all eight of its three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes.
But N.C. State bounced back, opening the second half with a 16-7 run to tie the game with 14:30 left, highlighted by a fast break dunk from freshman forward Kyle Washington.
After missing eight of his previous shot attempts, Turner caught fire midway through the second half, knocking down four straight shots from beyond the arc. The LSU transfer carried the Wolfpack in the second half, scoring 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.
Turner’s white-hot shooting and strong play from the bench helped the Pack lead for the majority of the second half. Freshman forward Beejay Anya made his presence felt with key rebounds and blocks down the stretch.
The Terps implemented a full court press with fewer than four minutes left in the contest. However, the Pack seemed to adjust to the defensive set without issue, scoring on its first possession facing the press.
The Pack never trailed in the final 9:28, closing out the ballgame with key defensive rebounds and free throws.