While a better effort was there, results continued to elude the NC State men’s basketball team in its seventh straight loss at the hands of Notre Dame, 81-72, at PNC Arena Saturday.
The 3-point shooting battle was the difference in this one; the Fighting Irish (21-7, 10-5 ACC) shot 43.3 percent from beyond the arc, compared to just 21.4 from downtown for the Pack (14-14, 3-12 ACC). Irish senior V.J. Beachem led all players with 27 points and shot 7 of 12 from 3.
“We defended them really well in the second half; the difference was the 3-point shooting,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We had some good looks, we just missed them.”
As usual, freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr. led the Pack in scoring, picking up 16 points on the day. He was joined in double figures by sophomore forward Maverick Rowan with 15 points and freshman guard Markell Johnson, who had a career-best 12 points off the bench.
“This whole season, my team believed in me,” Johnson said. “They told me to go out there and play my game the way I know how to play. Today they just motivated me a lot and I came out and did that.”
The first 10 minutes and change of the game were fairly evenly played, with the Irish having a slight 20-16 edge at the 9:33 mark. While the Pack’s defense was somewhat improved, giving up open looks from downtown and easy drives to the basket continued to be an issue. Offensively, the Wolfpack struggled early with turnovers and poor shot selection.
Notre Dame finished out the half on a 21-12 run to take a 41-28 lead to the break. More of the same issues on offense and defense continued to plague the Pack throughout the first half. Notre Dame finished the first half shooting 59 percent from the field, while State was hitting just 40 percent of its shots. In addition, the Irish shot 50 percent from 3, with the Wolfpack connecting on a mere 10 percent of its deep shots.
The Pack kept things closer to open the second half, as Notre Dame opened the final frame with a 20-17 run. Perimeter defense continued to be a nightmare for the NC State; Beachem hit four 3-pointers during that span.
A 16-5 run over 4:16 in the latter portion of the second half brought the Pack to within 10. Smith was particularly impressive during this run, scoring 6 straight points to cap it off and showing off his speed and elusiveness with some nice drives to the basket. The team in general played with a lot more energy, out-rebounding Notre Dame 33-28 despite the Irish holding the size advantage.
“I think we played a lot harder today,” Rowan said. “We’re tired of losing. We just want to win a couple games and finish out the season strong.”
A 3 from Henderson with 2:54 brought the Pack to within 9 and ignited the crowd, making a comeback look possible. Johnson brought the team within 7 with a layup with just over a minute remaining, but unfortunately for State, that’s as close as it would get. The late rally fell short, sending the Pack to its 12th conference loss with three games remaining in the regular season.
The Wolfpack looks to snap its losing streak as it travels to Georgia Tech Tuesday for an 8 p.m. tip-off and possibly earn a higher seed in the ACC Tournament.
“I saw a team in there that could do some damage in Brooklyn,” Gottfried said. “We just need to keep our spirit alive.”
North Carolina State's star Dennis Smith Jr. attempts to block Notre Dame's Bonzie Colson. Dennis Smith Jr. finished Saturday's game with 16 points and 3 assists.
