NC State endured a hard-fought slugfest against Harvard and earned a 78-77 victory in Reynolds Coliseum Sunday night to move on to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament.
“What an incredible game,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought our guys responded very well. We knew it was going to be a game coming in. [Harvard] is a very good basketball team.”
In the first half, NC State came out firing and quickly opened an 11-5 lead. The Pack extended the lead to 24-12 later in the half. Harvard struggled with turnovers early, and the Wolfpack was eager to make the Crimson pay for its mistakes
However, Harvard caught fire at the 10-minute mark and remained hot for the rest of the half. The Pack’s 12-point lead was cut to just one after a 13-2 Harvard run. The run was facilitated by Harvard’s Bryce Aiken, who sank two 3-pointers and two free throws over a two-minute span. Aiken finished the game with 19 points and acted as the focal point of Harvard’s offense.
Harvard held a razor-thin 39-38 advantage at the end of the first half. The close score was no surprise; NC State and Harvard had an identical shooting percentage and three-point percentage at the end of the half.
The second half encompassed the game as a whole; it was an exciting, back-and-forth brawl between two evenly-matched teams. The game featured 15 lead changes and nine ties as the Pack and the Crimson traded blows. Neither team was able to build a sizeable advantage throughout the second half, as the largest lead for either team in the second half was only five points.
Fittingly, the game wasn’t decided until the final seconds. Harvard gathered an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw and had possession down by two points. NC State’s defense struggled to contain Aiken all night, and the ball was in the hands of Aiken who tortured NC State from behind the arc in the first half.
However, Aiken committed a devastating turnover with less than 10 seconds remaining, and two made free throws by Wolfpack redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, gave the Wolfpack a commanding four-point lead with six seconds left. Rio Haskett for the Crimson drained a 3-pointer to make things interesting with 2.5 seconds remaining, but the Pack was able to evade getting fouled and held on to the ball to secure the win.
“So many guys played well,” Keatts said. “In March, basketball is less about the coaches and more about the players. We make a game plan but the players have to execute, and I thought our guys made tremendous strides especially in the second half.”
NC State was able to improve on two of its problem areas this game in rebounding and free throws. The Wolfpack gathered 17 offensive boards and went 18 for 27 from the free-throw line.
“We ended the game with 17 offensive rebounds,” Keatts said. “We also got to the line often. We didn’t make as many as I wanted to, but I thought these guys were very good.”
A key player in the victory was redshirt sophomore Devon Daniels. He scored 14 points, hit multiple tough shots and played solid defense all night which was highlighted by a massive block in the first half.
“I was just trying to step it up for my teammates,” Daniels said. “It’s March. Any one of these games could be our last.”
NC State will take on Lipscomb in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. The game will take place in Reynolds Coliseum with the winner advancing to the semifinals in New York.
Redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels dunks the ball against Harvard on Sunday March 24, 2019 in Reynolds Coliseum during the second round of the NIT. Daniels went 6-10 from the field and contributed 14 points to the 78-77 win over the Crimson.
