In a hard-fought match against a formidable Louisville team, the Wolfpack came away with one of its biggest wins of the year to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, defeating the No. 9 ranked Cardinals 74-65 on Saturday afternoon.
NC State (15-11, 6-7 ACC) led early, but No. 9 Louisville (20-5, 8-4 ACC) went on a 10-2 run to take a 15-9 lead early in the first half. The Cardinals played aggressive basketball, often using a full-court press tactic on the Pack’s inbound attempts and double-teaming the ball handler, forcing three Wolfpack turnovers in the first half.
However, Louisville missed 13 straight shots in an eight-minute span, allowing NC State to gain some ground in a first half that featured five ties and 12 lead changes. Despite the field-goal drought, the Cardinals’ stout defense allowed them to take a tight 31-30 lead going into the break.
Sophomore guard Anthony “Cat” Barber led NC State with nine points on 4-of-10 from the field. Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu also had an early impact with five points and five rebounds.
Senior forward Wayne Blackshear had his way with the Wolfpack defense, putting up 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from three point range for the Cardinals. NC State was able to hold Louisville’s most star-studded player, junior forward Montrezl Harrell, to zero points in the first half.
The second half started the same way the first half ended, with the teams going back and forth with four lead changes and two ties in the first four minutes. The Cardinals continued their aggressive defensive approach with the full-court press in an attempt to force turnovers and wear the Wolfpack down.
“Cat figured it out as the game went on,” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “He used his burst of speed and figured out how to get a layup or create one. Trevor was able to use the ball screen and he could either get some shots for himself or find somebody else. With how [Louisville] defend, that would be our best chance to score.”
The game was tied at 46-45, and off of a fast break, freshman forward Caleb Martin slipped past the defense to finish on an alley-oop from Barber. On the next possession, redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey dished out an assist to Martin for a wide-open baseline three to cap a 5-0 run that gave NC State its largest lead of the game.
Two possessions later, after a free throw from sophomore forward BeeJay Anya on the previous possession, Barber found redshirt senior guard Ralston Turner at the baseline for another wide-open three to increase the Pack’s lead to 55-47 off of a 9-1 run.
The teams went back and forth for the next few minutes, until Lacey was once again able to put Louisville on stilts and increase the Pack’s lead to 62-52 with 5:15 left in the game. Just after that, the Cardinals’ leading scorer on the year, sophomore guard Terry Rozier, fouled out with 4:56 remaining to put yet another crutch in Louisville’s offensive attack.
“We’ve got to believe we can win,” Gottfried said. “Today we had that look in our eye that we’re going to win the game.”
Despite losing one of their better players, the Cardinals came very close to staging a comeback. They were able to cut the deficit to four with 1:20 remaining, putting quite the scare in Wolfpack fans that have been too familiar with their team losing close games down the stretch this season. The Pack entered the game having lost seven games decided by five or fewer points.
However, NC State was able to hang on for the road victory against Louisville, coming away with one of its biggest victories of the season.
“I think my confidence is getting higher and higher,” Barber said. “Coach keeps telling me, ‘Be you, be Cat.’”
Barber came up huge for the Pack, finishing with a game-high 21 points and added four assists and two steals. Lacey garnered 14 points, including five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Kyle Washington only played seven minutes all game, but Anya came up big in his place, putting up eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two ground shaking dunks that quieted the arena.
NC State looks to capitalize on the upset and will take on Virginia Tech Saturday at 6 p.m. in PNC Arena.
