After dominating the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half of its New Year’s Eve matchup at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, NC State men’s basketball fumbled a 14-point second-half lead and another opportunity for a resume-improving win, suffering a 70-67 loss.

NC State (8-5, 1-1 ACC) put on a show from behind the arc in the first half to take full control against the Cavaliers (8-5, 1-1 ACC). Going 6-11 from deep, the Wolfpack held a 10-point lead going into the half. The Pack quickly increased its lead to 14 in the opening minutes of the second half, but a debilitating 13-minute stretch where the Cavaliers outscored the Pack 38-12 allowed Virginia to take a 12-point lead with five minutes to go.

A series of offensive rebounds and second-chance points brought the Pack back within three points with a minute left, but the team couldn’t capitalize on the offensive end to tie the game.

Down three points, once again, to the Virginia Cavaliers with one of their most reliable free throw shooters on the line, the ending of this one felt strangely reminiscent of these two team’s last matchup when graduate guard Michael O’Connell hit what Wolfpack fans now call “the shot” that eventually led to an ACC Championship.

With 3.9 seconds left, Cavaliers forward Elijah Saunders had a chance to ice the game and put Virginia up four points, but Saunders’ free throw did not fall. Snatching the defensive rebound, senior guard Marcus Hill passed an outlet to 2024 ACC Tournament hero, O’Connell. Unlike the miracle shot in Washington D.C., O’Connell let it fly from well beyond half-court with two seconds left on the clock. The game-tying attempt fell well short of the basket.

At this point in the season, it is clear the Wolfpack doesn’t have a go-to crunch-time scorer and instead relies on team basketball. NC State effectively moved the ball around in the first half, recording 11 assists, and each player who touched the court scored but the team struggled to keep the ball moving in the second half. As play stagnated, and the shots that fell in the first half clanked off the iron in the second, the Pack relied on second-chance opportunities to get back into the game. Ultimately, a lack of offensive flow — NC State recorded just three assists in the second half — led to the Pack’s demise.

Free throw shooting has been an issue for the Wolfpack all season as it ranked 243rd in the nation coming into this matchup, shooting 69.12% from the line this season. The Pack started strong in this category going 7-7 in the first half, but shot 4-8 in the second half in a game it lost by three points.

Senior guard Jayden Taylor led the Wolfpack in scoring with 14 points, shooting 3-6 from deep. Scoring 11 points and recording a season-high five assists in the first half, Taylor was a driving force in producing the 10-point lead going into the locker room. Along with the rest of the team, Taylor cooled off in the second half.

With senior forward Ben Middlebrooks out with an illness, senior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was forced to step up and play extra minutes in Middlebrooks’ absence.

Huntely-Hatfield was a dominant force in the paint, but at times struggled to put the ball in the hoop, missing a few layups under the basket.

Along with Hill, Huntley-Hatfield’s offensive rebounding at the end of the contest kept the Pack in the game as shots were not falling.

The offensive inefficiencies for the Wolfpack proved to be too costly, leading to a disappointing loss after such a dominant first half.

NC State will see action on Saturday as it takes on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.