The last time sophomore Braxton Beverly played a game in PNC Arena, things couldn’t have gone much worse. Beverly went 0 for 12 from the field in the Pack’s 47-24 loss to Virginia Tech on Feb. 2, missing on all nine of his 3-point attempts.
However, Wednesday night against Syracuse Beverly found his stroke in a big way. The 6-foot guard tied a career high with 21 points, going 4 for 8 from the field, all from beyond the arc, and a flawless 9 for 9 from the free-throw line to help lead the Pack (18-7, 6-6 ACC) to a much-needed, resume-building 73-58 win over the Orange (17-8, 8-4 ACC).
“I’m just trying to be confident,” Beverly said. “All my teammates, they have confidence, the coaches have confidence. They try to find me on fast breaks when I’m open, they encourage me to shoot. A lot of credit goes to my teammates finding me, having that confidence in me.”
It was the third straight strong performance from Beverly following the dud against Virginia Tech. In a loss at UNC-Chapel Hill last week, Beverly scored 17 points after hitting his first four 3-point attempts of the game.
This past Saturday on the road against Pittsburgh, Beverly again scored 17 points, going 6 of 13 from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range to help give the Wolfpack a 79-76 win.
With Syracuse in town Wednesday night, the Pack really needed a win to help boost its tournament resume, and Beverly delivered. He gave NC State the spark it needed out of the locker room after an ugly last four minutes of the first half that saw the Orange go on an 11-2 run to make it a three-point game thanks to six Wolfpack turnovers down the stretch.
Beverly came out in the second half and drilled his first two 3-pointers, while converting three free throws after getting fouled on another to give the Wolfpack a cushion it would never relinquish.
“I shot a better percentage against Pittsburgh,” Beverly said. “I made a lot of shots. You’ve just got to build off that. Last game (in PNC) is probably something that is probably never going to happen to anybody else again in this gym. It’s good to build off that.”
For Beverly, the 0-for-12 performance against Virginia Tech wasn’t normal, and wasn’t something that was going to keep him from shooting his shot moving forward. Confidence is key for the sharp-shooting guard, and something that he never lost in himself.
That confidence in Beverly is also something that never wavered in head coach Kevin Keatts.
“That’s a guy that I believe in,” Keatts said. “He could come out and go 0 for 20 and then I know the next time he comes, he’s going to play. That’s a guy that I’ve never questioned his ability to make shots. I love the kid. He works hard. I wish every kid at NC State that I recruit is Braxton Beverly. He works hard, is a great student, low maintenance. That’s what he is. I knew he was going to make some shots and he’s shooting the ball very well right now.”
Beverly has been lights out the last three games, and it something NC State really needed from the guard. The Wolfpack has bounced back from a tough three-game skid to win two straight, with the win over Syracuse Wednesday being one of the Pack’s best of the season.
“It’s a big win. Syracuse is a really good team,” Beverly said. “They’re having a good season. I think they’re a lot better than people give them credit for. It’s definitely a big win. Any win in this league is big, especially two in a row. Now we’ve just got to keep building off of it.”
