There’s a reason Virginia is rated as one of the best teams in the country.
The NC State men’s basketball team put up a valiant effort Tuesday night in PNC Arena, but ultimately fell just short, succumbing to No. 3 Virginia 66-65 in overtime.
The Wolfpack (16-5, 4-4 ACC) overcame a 14-point second half deficit to send it to overtime, but the Cavaliers (19-1, 7-1 ACC) were able to outlast the Wolfpack and come away with the victory.
“I thought we fought our hearts out,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought Virginia made a couple more plays there toward the end, especially in overtime, to win the game.”
The Wolfpack struggled offensively to open the game, but played a tight contest with the ACC-leading Cavaliers for most of the first half. Despite never gaining the lead, the Wolfpack did manage to tie it at 17 with just under eight minutes left despite shooting an atrocious 9 for 28 from the field in the first half.
The Cavaliers entered halftime with the four-point lead, and it wasn’t long after the second half started that the game seemingly went off the rails for the Wolfpack. A rimmed-out 3-pointer from sophomore guard Braxton Beverly and two ensuing 3-pointers from Virginia’s Deandre Hunter and Ty Jerome put the Cavaliers up nine.
“Coach kept saying stick to the game plan,” graduate center Wyatt Walker said. “We knew if we kept doing what we normally do and try and speed things up and play that relentless, tough defense, that we could make it a game down the stretch.”
Virginia opened up a 14-point lead with 12 minutes to play in the game, a margin that seemed insurmountable given the Cavaliers’ defense and pace of play, but the Wolfpack chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 55 on two free throws by junior guard Markell Johnson.
The Wolfpack forced 16 Virginia turnovers, tying a season-high for the Cavaliers, one of the reasons for the impressive comeback. Johnson also came alive later in the game, scoring 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half and overtime. NC State also held UVa’s Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome to 8-of-22 shooting combined while forcing Deandre Hunter into foul trouble late in the game.
“With Virginia, they’re such an elite defensive team,” Keatts said. “They frustrate you, and they make you play one-on-one basketball, so if you’re making those shots that’s great, but if you’re missing them then you dig yourself further in the hole.”
NC State shot just 34 percent from the field, hitting 22 of its 64 shots and going just 7 of 26 from beyond the arc, due in large part to the Cavaliers’ suffocating defense.
Johnson began the overtime period by burying a 3-pointer, but the Cavaliers gained control of the game after that. With the score tied at 61, Guy nailed a crucial 3-pointer from the corner to put his team up three. Beverly eventually hit a runner in the lane to cut the lead to one, but two more UVA free throws after that extended the lead back to three.
Johnson, however, was fouled on the ensuing 3-pointer, sending him to the line. After missing the first, he made the second. Needing a tip-in off a miss on the third shot, Johnson made it, sealing the one-point win for Virginia.
“We don’t take any moral victories,” Walker said. “We’re obviously disappointed in the loss, but that’s a good team we fought pretty hard so definitely pleased with our effort, just a few key plays down the stretch we’ve got to convert on.”
Walker held his own against the tough Cavalier frontcourt of Mamadi Diakite, Jay Huff and Jack Salt. Salt fouled out and Diakite and Huff scored just eight points a piece. Walker had a season-high 11 points himself, going 2 for 2 from the field and hitting 7 of his 11 free throws while grabbing seven rebounds and picking up only two fouls..
“That’s the Wyatt Walker that we all have been waiting for,” Keatts said. “A guy who plays extremely hard, a guy who gets the offensive rebounds, a guy who can give us a bucket.”
The Wolfpack will have a tough turnaround, facing No. 12 Virginia Tech Saturday and then No. 9 UNC-Chapel Hill Tuesday.
