In front of a rowdy crowd in Reynolds Coliseum Wednesday, the NC State men’s basketball team came up just short in a thrilling nail-biter, falling to Lipscomb 94-93 in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
The Wolfpack’s (24-12) season came to an end, as NC State had no answer for Bisons’ (28-7) guard Garrison Mathews, who lit the Pack up for 44 points. For the Pack, redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn ended his NC State career with undoubtedly his finest performance, a 34-point, nine-rebound showing in an entertaining shootout with Mathews.
“It was a tremendous offensive game, it really literally came down to who had the ball last,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “It was a great game. If you were a fan, you loved it. It was unfortunate that we had to come up on the short end of it, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Guard Kenny Cooper was the hero late in the game for Lipscomb, as he scored the Bisons’ final five points, including the game-winning bucket with two seconds to play. Junior point guard Markell Johnson battled Cooper down the stretch, scoring the Pack’s last five points to cap his 19-point, five-assist outing.
Dorn, who had 12 points but shot just 5 for 17 on his actual senior night, made the most of his second opportunity at a last game in front of the Wolfpack faithful. Dorn came out firing, scoring eight of the Pack’s first 10 points to help get NC State out to an early 10-6 lead.
“Any loss is tough. I try to give it all to my teammates,” Dorn said. “Honestly, I’ll probably remember the electric environment that it was tonight. I just try to play in the moment and take it in and enjoy it, because win or lose, that was my last game at State in front of the fans.”
For the Bisons, Mathews was just as hot from the start, scoring the team’s first 11 points. Mathews’ 44 points at the end of the night were the most an opponent has ever scored against NC State in Reynolds Coliseum.
“He was electric tonight,” Keatts said. “He was tremendous. We knew coming in he was a big-time scorer. I’m leaving the game saying he was the best scorer I’ve played against all year. He raised up, he made shots, he was good, he made shots on the break.”
After Lipscomb took an 18-15 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from forward Matt Rose, Dorn went on a 5-0 personal run to put the Pack back on top at 20-18.
It didn’t stop there for the Pack guard, who battled Mathews throughout the rest of the first half to see who could steal the show. After 20 minutes, Dorn had a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting with Mathews right on his heels with an even 20 points.
The teams fairly evenly exchanged baskets for the entirety of the first half, with NC State pulling ahead to a nine-point lead at 47-38 heading into the locker room. The Wolfpack shot lights out from the field in the opening half, shooting 54.1 percent.
Any Pack momentum from the first half was squandered in the opening two minutes of the second half, as Lipscomb went on a quick 9-2 run to cut the Pack’s lead to just two points at 49-47.
The Bisons didn’t stop there, and after three straight buckets from Mathews, two from long range, Lipscomb jumped ahead to a 57-56 lead. NC State battled back into it, and after two buckets from redshirt sophomore DJ Funderburk and a corner 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore Devon Daniels, the Wolfpack tied the game at 65-65 with just over 10 minutes to play.
The Bisons’ Rob Marberry tied the game up at 68-68 with a layup that was swatted away by Pack graduate forward Wyatt Walker, but was called goaltending. Keatts exploded at the goaltending decision, and after some very animated, choice words towards the official that made the call, was given his first technical foul of the season.
“I know why I got it,” Keatts said. “I don’t know why the call was made, but I absolutely deserved the technical foul. I was very upset. I thought it was a bad call, and that’s a disagreement. But I absolutely know why I got it.”
Mathews made both technical free throws to give Lipscomb a 70-68 advantage, but the Pack clawed back behind an incredibly rowdy Reynolds Coliseum thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson.
“That was probably the most intense, electric game I have ever played at Reynolds,” Dorn said. “It was amazing. It was one of the most fun games I’ve had at State.”
Dorn and Mathews continued their battle, as the two exchanged baskets into the game’s final minute. Mathews tied things up at 88-88 with an emphatic slam dunk with just over a minute remaining in the game, and as he had all night, gave the NC State student section a quick glance and a flex.
“They did a great job of being on their side and heckling us. It was all in fun,” Mathews said. “I was just amazed at how loud it was in here and how incredible everybody was. It was just an incredible environment. It’s one I’ll never forget for sure.”
While it was Mathews and Dorn that had been the go-to guys all night, it was Cooper and Johnson that stepped up in the final seconds. Johnson drilled a straightaway 3-pointer to put the Pack up 91-88 with 42 seconds to play.
After Mathews split a pair of free throws to make it 91-89, Dorn made a critical mistake for the Pack, passing the ball straight to Cooper on an inbounds play. Cooper made the Pack pay, as he drained a corner 3-pointer to grab a one-point lead.
“He kind of just broke in front of the pass and got to it,” Dorn said.
Johnson answered for NC State, driving to the hoop for a tough layup with 10 seconds remaining to take back the lead.
However, it was Cooper who got the last shot, as he buried a mid-range jumper with two seconds on the clock to take the win from the Wolfpack and advance to the NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden.
For NC State, Wednesday marked the end of year two under Keatts, who took the Pack to the NCAA Tournament in his first year before making a deep run in the NIT this year. Despite the loss, the Wolfpack went out with an exceptional effort in a thrilling game.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Keatts said. “Certainly no one wants their season to end this way, but when I look at their body of work, I can sleep at night feeling that this program is moving in the right direction.”
