Beloved senior Torin Dorn played his final NC State game on Wednesday night and he did not disappoint, scoring a career-high 34 points in a heartbreaking 94-93 loss to Lipscomb.
Reynolds Coliseum was electric for the third straight game, especially after Dorn pumped up the crowd in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to top the Bisons. Despite the outcome, Dorn’s performance is something for fans to remember.
“Basketball is kind of like life,” Dorn said. “It’s a rollercoaster and you can never get too high or too low, so everything I’ve learned on the court and off the court, I’ll be able to take it into when I’m a father or a husband one day and just be able to stay even-keeled and try to inspire other people to be able to chase their dreams because NC State has allowed me to chase mine.”
Dorn looked unstoppable in the first half, putting up 15 points in the first eight minutes. He ended the first half with 21 points, taking much of the load from junior Markell Johnson who collected two fouls early.
Driving was the senior’s strength all night as Lipscomb had no answer for him at the rim, but he also made just about every jumper he took. Dorn shot 15 for 22 from the floor and made 4 of 5 from the free-throw line without attempting a 3-pointer.
Just one rebound shy of a double-double, the guard gave it his all, playing 37 of 40 minutes to keep NC State in front of the Bisons for most of the game. Unfortunately, in the final 30 seconds, Dorn turned the ball over as he tried to inbound a pass to Johnson.
“I tried to give it all for my teammates and the fact that we couldn’t win,” Dorn said. “I was more upset for them and being hard on myself because I felt like I could’ve made a couple plays down the stretch and it would’ve been a little different but that’s life. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and it’s about how you react to it and you come back from it.”
If you only watch the last couple of minutes, it was a crucial turnover, but there are 40 minutes in a game. Each team scored 90-plus points and on any one of those possessions, there could’ve been a stop, so that didn’t decide the game.
“Just to see him play his last game and be aggressive and score 34 points and play in front of an electric crowd,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “It means a lot to me. When we all get in this business we want to know that, wins or losses, that we’re sending young men into the real world ready and I don’t know that there’s another young man in the world that’s more ready than Torin Dorn.”
After Keatts came into the program, Dorn took off and was able to be successful in the coach’s system. Dorn became the 52nd 1,000-point scorer in NC State history and is among the best players in recent memory as he will have a lasting effect on the men’s basketball program at NC State.
“My first two years I feel like we had a lot of different pieces and we just couldn’t get it together,” Dorn said. “And then [Keatts] came and we were able to establish a different type of culture and playing hard and taking everything a little more seriously. I think it’s done wonders for the program and I like the direction we’re moving in.”
Whether the clock is running or not, Dorn has been a leader and a captain on this team. He’s shown what being a member of the Pack really means by the way that he competes on the floor and how he represents his school when the buzzer sounds.
Behind all of the stats and numbers, Dorn has meant so much to the NC State community in his time in Raleigh. Ever since he transferred from UNC-Charlotte, Dorn has put everything he has into this program and is deserving of all of the support he’s gotten in his career.
“All the teammates I’ve had over the years. All the great times we’ve had,” Dorn said. “All my coaches that have been able to impart some wisdom on me. All the fans that come out and support us every day. Every game is amazing. I try to take it in every game, so I’ll remember all of that. Everybody that had a part in it. NC State is a beautiful place and it’s a place where a lot of people love to get behind a team that works hard and we’ve seen that and that energy being able to carry on.”
