CHARLOTTE — Living up to his “second-half Markell” nickname, junior guard Markell Johnson’s clutch second-half performance delivered the NC State basketball team a huge ACC Tournament win.
Johnson, who finished with 23 points and four assists in the game, scored 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting and hit three 3-pointers in the second half, putting the Wolfpack team on his back to pick up a much-needed win.
“That’s just [Johnson] taking over,” said sophomore guard Braxton Beverly. “He’s going to make the right play for us to win … we have the utmost confidence in him.”
With the Wolfpack (22-10, 9-9 ACC) trailing 53-51 and less than six minutes remaining in the game, Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a four-point lead and cap a furious 20-2 second-half run.
“Markell … was tremendous down the stretch,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “He made big 3s and then sealed the game.”
Johnson wasn’t done yet, though. Trailing 58-57 with six seconds left, he drove to the rim from the left side and drew a foul with 2.6 seconds remaining, giving himself a chance to tie or win the game.
“I was just trying to take the best shot as possible getting into the lane,” Johnson said. “I was already thinking in my head that [Clemson] might foul me again.”
In a strange case of deja vu, Johnson found himself in a situation he was in earlier in the season against Virginia. In that game, he got fouled shooting a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and with the Pack down three points, had a chance to tie the game up. He hit only two, and the Pack lost by one point.
“I’ve been in a situation like that,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to give back to my team for what I did against Virginia, and make the free throws.”
Johnson delivered on his word, knocking down the first free throw and sinking the second after a Clemson timeout to “ice the shooter” created a minute-long delay between shots.
“The only thing going through my mind,” Johnson said. “[Was] stepping up to the line, being confident and knocking it down. That was really it.”
Echoing Beverly’s sentiments about the team’s confidence in him taking big shots in the second half, Johnson has plenty of confidence in putting the team on his back in clutch situations.
“I just feel like I can’t really miss … when I’m feeling myself,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like I felt any pressure.”
If the Wolfpack wants to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament, the team knows it’s going to have to rely on Johnson to work his magic.
“We want to put the ball in [Johnson’s] hands as much as we can,” Beverly said. “That’s just his talent, his skill set. He puts on on the biggest stage.”
Junior guard Markell Johnson shoots and makes his last free throw of the game to beat Clemson 59-58 during the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 in the Spectrum Center. Johnson scored 23 points and shot 8-17 against the Tigers.
