Following a remarkable comeback win against Wake Forest, it seemed like NC State men’s basketball was poised to secure another ACC victory at PNC Arena. 

However, the Pack (13-5, 5-2 ACC) was outscored by the Hokies (11-7, 3-4 ACC) 51-46 in the second half, ultimately resulting in an 84-78 loss.

The Wolfpack was able to contain the Hokies’ guards in the first half, but strong second half performances from graduate guard Hunter Cattoor and junior guard Sean Pedulla helped the visitors close out the game. Cattoor led the Hokies in scoring, with 16 of his 19 points coming in the second half, while Pedulla wasn’t far behind, contributing nine of his 13 points in the second half. 

“I give Virginia Tech a lot of credit,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “I thought that they made big plays when they needed to. I thought that in the first half we did a really good job on Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor, and then at the end of the game we didn’t. I thought that those guys drove us; they made big plays when they needed to and had been playing really good basketball.” 

The game had a total of 15 different lead changes, but it ultimately came down to making crucial shots when needed, and the Hokies delivered. The Wolfpack shot 43% from the field and 32% from three, while Virginia Tech posted impressive percentages of 53% from the field and 47% from three. Graduate guard Casey Morsell led all scorers for the Pack with 19 points, followed by graduate guard DJ Horne with 16 points and junior guard Jayden Taylor with 15 points. 

“We lost, we can’t let it just keep going like this,” Taylor said. “We’ve been a good team all year. We haven’t been shooting the ball as well as we can, but we shoot every day. They’re going to fall.” 

While the Pack scored 78 points, seemingly enough to win, and forced 20 turnovers, it committed 18 turnovers itself. 

“It’s weird because we’ve been good the entire season of just taking care of the basketball, and then the last couple of games, we haven’t, and we’ve got to get back to doing that,” Keatts said. “It’s funny because we’re still winning the turnover battle, but we were winning it by such a large margin. Even though they turned it over 20 times, I didn’t think we capitalized on all of those. I thought we gave it back a little bit.”

The Pack started the first half strong, securing a quick 6-0 lead with points from graduate forward DJ Burns and Taylor. However, the Hokies swiftly responded with a dunk and back-to-back 3-pointers, claiming their first lead of the game. Scoring went back and forth throughout the frame, but with 3:45 left, Morsell sent the crowd into a frenzy by making the team’s first 3-pointer since Jan. 13. 

At the half, the Pack trailed the Hokies 32-33. The discrepancy in scoring appeared to stem from the free-throw line, where the Pack had zero attempts, while the Hokies went 8/9. On the defensive end, Taylor played outstanding against Pedulla, limiting him to four points and forcing four turnovers.

At the beginning of the second half, Horne made two 3-pointers in the first two minutes, giving NC State the lead. However, the Hokies had a response to everything, as graduate forward Robbie Beran countered with a 3-pointer of his own a few moments later. 

There were six lead changes in the first 13 minutes of the second half. The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the game until the Hokies gained a 56-54 lead with a Pedulla 3-pointer and never relinquished it. The visitors extended their lead to 70-58 after a Cattoor 3-pointer, but the Pack did not give up and continued to fight until the final whistle, cutting the deficit to just a six-point loss.

“When you guard them you have to give up something; they were hot from three so we tried to run them off [the 3-point line], and they were still getting into the paint,” Morsell said. “That’s a very good ball club, and we’ve got to figure out how to slow teams down when they get hot.”

With just under eight minutes left in the second half, Taylor made two free throws to give the Pack a 54-51 lead. Shortly after Virginia Tech scored three straight baskets and went on a 7-0 run, they suddenly led 62-56 with just over five minutes remaining. The Hokies closed out the game by knocking down shots and making free throws.

The Pack suffered its second ACC loss of the season and still has 13 more ACC matchups ahead. This game will be recorded as a Quad 2 loss for the Pack and could be significant if it doesn’t end up on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.

“There’s a lot of ball left in the ACC,” Morsell said. “We’ve just got to keep being who we are. Even though we lost, all of our mistakes are fixable.” 

NC State will look to rebound on the road against Virginia on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at John Paul Jones Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.