In a must-win game on its home court, NC State men’s basketball struggled from the free-throw line against Pittsburgh, failing to overcome the Panthers in a 67-64 loss. With this defeat, the Pack’s record in ACC play drops to 7-5 and its overall record falls to 15-8.
“I can look at this stat sheet 100 times,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “They played great in the first, and we played great in the second half. We were six for 15 from the free-throw line. … You’re looking at someone who’s very disappointed because those are so valuable in possession games, and tonight we didn’t step up and make our free throws, and honestly I think that cost us the game.”
Although much of the loss can be attributed to struggles at the free-throw line, two of NC State’s most impactful guards were nearly invisible. Junior guard Jayden Taylor recorded zero points, zero rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes, while graduate guard Casey Morsell managed five points, four rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes. Morsell had previously scored double-digit figures in seven of his last eight games while Taylor tallied 21 points in the previous game.
“I didn’t think they played well today,” Keatts said. “Neither one of those guys, especially [Taylor], I didn’t feel like he had it tonight, and typically with him he’s a guy who is really causing havoc on the other team’s defense. He didn’t pressure the ball well. It’s one of those games, and guys have games like that.”
A standout player for the Pack once again was graduate guard DJ Horne, who posted 25 points along with three rebounds. On the opposing side, Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe posed a challenge with 20 points, three rebounds and two assists. Lowe demonstrated his ability to penetrate and score from all areas of the floor.
Statistically, the Pack outperformed Pittsburgh in almost every category except free throws and rebounds. The Pack shot 46% from the field, 33% from beyond the arc and only 40% from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Panthers shot 42% from the field, 24% from three and an impressive 90% from the free-throw line. Pittsburgh had 37 total rebounds compared to NC State’s 28.
“It was a lack of energy from the beginning,” Morsell said. “I feel like that’s played a role in us coming out pretty slow and it snowballed throughout the first half.”
The Pack took an early 5-3 lead in the first half after a Horne 3-pointer, but shortly after, Lowe answered with a jumper to tie the game. This lead, two minutes into the game, was the only lead the Pack held for the entire half. Pittsburgh forward Blake Hinson, supported by Lowe, had the hot hand, scoring eight of the Panthers’ first 14 points, including a 3-pointer. Hinson ended the half with 13 points on three for six from 3.
The deficit grew to as much as 11 points midway through the first half, but the Wolfpack managed to cut it down thanks in part to junior forward Ben Middlebrooks, who scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds off the bench in the first half.
Toward the later stages of the first half, Horne knocked down multiple 3-pointers, one of which tied the game at 30 apiece. Horne finished the first half with all 12 of his points coming from beyond the arc, shooting four for six.
Despite the Pack’s efforts to tie the game, it ended the final three and a half minutes of the first half on a scoring drought while Pittsburgh managed to score eight-straight, five of which came from Lowe.
“I thought in the first half Pitt played extremely well,” Keatts said. “They did a good job of closing the half. I remember when it was 30 to 30, and then obviously next thing I know it was 38 to 30 at the half.”
The start of the second half was once again sluggish for the Pack. Within the first minute of play, the deficit ballooned to 13 points. Graduate forward DJ Burns scored the first points of the half for the Pack and found his offensive rhythm, particularly attacking Pittsburgh’s big men, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the second half.
Pittsburgh managed to maintain its lead in the early stages of the half, primarily due to its effective free throw shooting. The Panthers made 12 out of 14 attempts in the half to keep their lead, despite shooting just 33% from the field and 8% from beyond the arc.
The Pack regained its first lead since the 18-minute mark of the first half with just over six minutes left in the game. However, it only held onto it for 55 seconds before a made layup from Hinson tied the game at 58 apiece. A layup from forward Ishmael Legget with just under four minutes left gave the Panthers a 62-60 lead that the Pack could never overcome.
Scoring went back and forth in the final few minutes of play, but after junior forward Mo Diarra made a layup it cut the home team’s deficit to one with 11 seconds left, and the team was forced to foul Lowe with five seconds remaining. Lowe sealed the game with two made free throws, fitting that the last basket was a free throw on a night when the Pack struggled, making just four of 10 attempts from the line in the second half.
“It’s probably a different outcome, hopefully, if we step up to the line and we make them, but we didn’t, and that’s a problem,” Keatts said.
NC State will have eight more ACC games, five of them on the road. The team will need to win almost all remaining games if it wants to be playing in the NCAA Tournament in March.
“We can’t lose anymore man,” Horne said. “We want to get to March. That’s why I came here, so we got to figure out what we gotta do. We got some Quad 1 opportunities left on our schedule, but it’s not like it’s easy. We got to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we need to do to win.”
The Pack will go on the road for a crucial game on Saturday, Feb. 10, as it takes on Wake Forest. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
