It was almost a storybook ending for Torin Dorn in PNC Arena Wednesday night.
The redshirt senior guard hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with six seconds to play in the NC State men’s basketball team’s 63-61 loss to Georgia Tech (14-17, 6-12 ACC), but a defensive lapse for the Wolfpack (20-10, 8-9 ACC) on the other end of the court kept Dorn from stealing the show on his senior night.
“It seemed like a fitting ending, but we didn’t get a stop to finish it off,” Dorn said. “It happens like that sometimes.”
Despite the loss, it was a good moment for Dorn, who drained the shot from deep to put NC State up 61-60 in a game where the Wolfpack struggled to get anything going. Playing in front of the Wolfpack faithful for his last time, Dorn finished up an otherwise forgettable game with one of his biggest shots in an NC State jersey.
“I feel really bad for him, because we’d like to win on senior night,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “What a great ending it would have been if he hit that 3 and they didn’t score at the end. That’s where I feel bad.”
After playing his first year at UNC-Charlotte, where he was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, Dorn transferred to the Wolfpack and played his first season for NC State in the 2016-17 season.
Now, 1,177 points later, Dorn has put together quite the career with the Wolfpack. He’s one of 52 1,000-point scorers in program history, and with a handful of games left sits at No. 42 on the school leaderboards in career points.
He’s also been imposing on the boards for the Wolfpack, especially for a guard. With 563 career rebounds to date, Dorn’s aggressiveness and ability to get to the glass is one of the biggest reasons he’s beloved by Wolfpack fans. He’s particularly tenacious on the offensive glass, as his 174 career offensive boards are tied for 14th-most in school history.
“I’ve given so much to NC State, and it’s meant so much for me to play in front of these fans,” Dorn said. “I wanted to send them out with a win, but we weren’t able to do that. It’s definitely been an emotional roller coaster today, for sure.”
He came into a Mark Gottfried-led Wolfpack team in the 2016-17 and was a bright spot for NC State in a rather forgettable season. He worked his way into the starting lineup, averaging 9.5 points and 4.6 assists in his first season with the Pack.
After Dorn’s sophomore year, Keatts came to coach the Pack, and Dorn’s NC State career took off. In Keatts’ first year, Dorn was one of the major reasons the Pack was able to make a somewhat surprising run into the NCAA Tournament. Dorn averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his junior season, second on the team in both statistics.
“We’re talking about a great kid who has worked extremely hard,” Keatts said. “He’s accepted his responsibilities. He’s thrived in our system. I wish there were more kids like him. You never hear about him off the court. He’s already graduated. He’s working on his master’s. He allows us to play small because of the way he rebounds the basketball.”
Now in his final season, Dorn has been the leader NC State needed. He’s posted 13.8 points per game, as well as a team-leading 6.9 rebounds. He said goodbye to PNC Arena Wednesday night, but his time with the Pack isn’t done yet.
With one regular-season game remaining, followed by postseason play, Dorn has another few weeks to finish writing his story for the Pack. For the Wolfpack’s leader, the focus is on what’s to come.
“We’ve got to win games,” Dorn said. “We’ve got to win games down the stretch. Get this win against Boston College. Win a couple in the ACC Tournament to be safe.”
