NC State shook off a messy first half and dominated the second half to beat Syracuse 73-58 in PNC Arena Wednesday night.
“It’s a big win,” sophomore guard Braxton Beverly said. “Syracuse is a really good team. 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.”
The first half was an ugly affair to say the least, as both Syracuse (17-8, 8-4 ACC) and NC State (18-7, 6-6 ACC) had issues in both the turnover department and shooting the basketball. The Orange shot an abysmal 9 for 29 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, good for a field-goal percentage of just 31 percent. The Pack wasn’t much better, shooting a 37 percent clip in the opening half.
Where the Wolfpack really struggled in the opening frame was holding onto the ball, as NC State entered the locker room with 12 turnovers leading to 13 Syracuse points. These turnovers played a major part in an 11-2 run by Syracuse to end the half; NC State committed six turnovers over a four-minute span and watched as a 28-16 lead diminished to a three-point advantage at the buzzer.
“We lost our energy,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I remember looking at the score and I think it was 28-18 and we lost our energy. We weren’t playing with energy at the time.”
The second half was another story, as NC State started off hot and never looked back. NC State opened up a 14-0 run early in the second half which featured a four-minute scoring drought for the Orange, and the Pack maintained control for the rest of the half. NC State outscored Syracuse 43-31 and took a 21-point lead before Syracuse scored six points down the stretch.
“We always dig ourselves a hole and gotta come back and have a dogfight every game,” redshirt sophomore DJ Funderburk said. “It was just a blessing to come back out here and just put our foot on their necks second half and come out with a win.”
Beverly stood out all game and led the Wolfpack with 21 points, matching his career high. Beverly caught fire at the beginning of the second half; he scored nine quick points to help NC State build a lead they would never let go of.
“[Beverly’s] a guy I believe in,” Keatts said. “He can come out and go 0 for 20 and then I know the next time he comes out, he’s going to play. I’ve never ever questioned his ability to make shots.”
One major area of improvement for the Wolfpack was from the free-throw line. NC State has had serious issues from the line in recent games, but against the Orange the team shot 20 for 24 including a perfect 13 for 13 in the second half.
“I’ve talked to my team about winning the free-throw battle,” Keatts said. “One of the things we’ve talked about is that we were going to stop putting guys on the line. We were giving up so many points at the free-throw line, and certainly to turn it around where we can get to the free-throw line. I think we went 13 for 13 in the second half.”
NC State travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on No. 2 Duke Saturday. NC State has had recent success against the Blue Devils, winning both of its last two contests against Duke.
