The NC State men’s basketball traveled to South Bend, Indiana and defeated Notre Dame 80-69 Wednesday, March 3, to win its fifth straight game, its longest ACC win streak since 2004. The trio of freshman guards, Cam Hayes, Shakeel Moore and Dereon Seabron, combined for 45 points on the night to lead the way for the Wolfpack.
“When it’s clicking, you want it to be clicking in March,” said NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. “I’m happy with where the team is at.”
After losing redshirt senior guard Devon Daniels and now redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen for the season, more opportunities were offered for younger players to produce. The play of these freshmen is a big reason why the Wolfpack is playing its best basketball at the right time.
Both Hayes and Seabron had career highs in scoring with 20 points and 17 points, respectively. Moore had eight points off the bench with two made 3-pointers.
“The game is slowing down for me,” Seabron said. “With the more minutes I am getting on the floor, I’m getting more comfortable.”
Junior forward Jericole Hellems was the other NC State player in double figures with 13 points.
Toward the end of the first half, the Wolfpack went on a 7-0 run to increase its lead to double digits. A couple of 3-pointers in the last four minutes of the half allowed Notre Dame to cut the NC State lead to 40-32 at the break.
The Wolfpack significantly outshot Notre Dame in the first half, shooting 54.5%, while the Fighting Irish shot a meager 35.3%. However, both teams were 4 for 11 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Hellems had 11 points at the break while Hayes was second on the team with nine points in the first half.
It was more of the same for the Wolfpack in the second half. NC State went on an 8-0 run to push its lead to 56-39, capped by a 3-pointer from senior guard Braxton Beverly.
This is a lead the Wolfpack remained steady with for much of the second half. One of the ways it did this was by dominating inside the paint. NC State was working offensively inside all night long and protected it on the defensive end with 10 blocks as a team.
Late in the game, NC State pushed its lead to 19. However, the Fighting Irish went on a quick 12-0 run over two minutes to cut the lead to just seven points. A late dunk from redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk and some free throws from Hayes at the end stopped the run as it was able to close out the game.
“[Keatts] has been giving us confidence,” Hayes said. “Now we’re on a win streak, and we have just been playing really good basketball.”
Assuming no last-minute scheduling comes up after the Virginia Tech game was canceled this weekend, NC State will be back in action for the ACC Tournament next week in Greensboro. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates of all things Wolfpack basketball.
