Tuesday night in PNC Arena, the NC State men’s basketball team fell just short of No. 3 Virginia, dropping a 66-65 heartbreaker in overtime after fighting back from a 14-point deficit.
While a furious comeback effort against arguably the best defensive team in the nation is impressive for head coach Kevin Keatts’ squad, Tuesday night wasn’t the first time this season that the Wolfpack hasn’t been able to get over the hump after fighting back from a big deficit.
At home against rival UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State came out flat in the first half but sparked a run to tie the game in the second half. The Wolfpack tied things up against the Heels and was in it until the very end, but never took the lead in its first ACC loss of the season.
On the road against Wake Forest, NC State played its worst half of the season to start the game, and found itself down by 22 early in the second frame. The Wolfpack stormed back in that one as well to tie the game, but once again, never took the lead and fell completely flat in the final minutes to lose to a vastly inferior Demon Deacons team.
The Wolfpack lasted a little longer against the mighty Cavaliers Tuesday night, taking the game into overtime and even grabbing a lead early in the extra five minutes. However, once again the Pack couldn’t get it done down the stretch, as junior guard Markell Johnson missed the first of three free throws that could have tied the game with less than a second remaining in overtime.
“We were this close to winning, they were this close to winning. It just went their way,” redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels said. “It’s definitely frustrating. Me, and everybody on this team, loves to compete, loves to win. When it comes down to the end like that and we lose, of course we are going to be frustrated.”
While the inability to get over the hump and cap things off in a comeback is a concern that has repeated itself, there’s no questioning the Wolfpack’s fight, only its consistency down the stretch.
Against Clemson this past Saturday, NC State did get that shot it needed, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from sophomore guard Braxton Beverly that capped an incredible late comeback.
NC State has a team that doesn’t quit and knows how to get back into a game, and that’s something that will be invaluable down the stretch for Keatts’ squad. If the Pack can get its shots to fall late, like it did against the Tigers, NC State will be just fine.
“We had an opportunity to win the game and just fell short,” Keatts said. “It’s a thin line between winning and losing. We were on the other side of it against Clemson. We fought … I told the team after the game it’s ok to be disappointed. I thought we fought our hearts out. I thought our guys played until the end.”
But to be a great team that can really make a run and cause some damage late in the season, the Wolfpack needs to consistently find that final push to prevail in those close ACC games it keeps finding itself in. NC State never quits and is headed in the right direction, it just needs to clean some things up.
“There’s no moral victories,” Daniels said. “But it tells us that we’re right there. If we clean up a few things, take care of some mental mistakes, we can win the game.”
