The NC State men’s basketball team defeated Boston College 73-47 in a must-win game on the road to round out the regular season.
The Wolfpack (21-10, 9-9 ACC) was led on the day by redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce, who put up an impressive 14 points. The Eagles (14-16, 5-13 ACC) on the other hand struggled to score, as just one player put up double-digit points.
Junior guard Markell Johnson, who is consistently the Wolfpack’s offensive catalyst, had a quiet but solid outing with six points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Graduate center Wyatt Walker got the Wolfpack off to a good start as Johson found the center wide-open down low for a dunk. Walker then kept the play alive with an offensive rebound which eventually was finished by redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn to put the Wolfpack up 4-0 early.
The Wolfpack and the Eagles traded leads during the following seven minutes and some change thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore guard Braxton Beverly. Despite being a very up-and-down game, both teams struggled to finish as they combined for just 28 points in the opening eight minutes of the game.
NC State came out of a timeout with some motivation, scoring a quick set of back-to-back baskets before Boston College head coach Jim Chrsitian was forced to call a timeout to try and stifle the Wolfpack. Following the timeout, the run grew to 12-0 before Boston College’s Nik Popovich scored with a lay in.
Popovich’s basket did little to slow down the red-hot Pack, as the Wolfpack would end the half on a 29-11 run and leading by a score of 41-24.
Beverly led the Wolfpack in the opening half, with the sophomore hitting three 3s.
The Eagles came out of the break looking better than they did going into it, but the Wolfpack offense was too much to contend with as the Pack opened its lead up to over 20 within four minutes of the second half.
NC State continued its offensive onslaught as the second half continued, opening up as much as a 28-point lead within the opening seven minutes. The combination of Dorn and Bryce led the Wolfpack with four points apiece during this stretch.
The Eagles were dealt another blow halfway through the second half as Popovic had to be carried to the locker room. The Bosnian had scored eight point prior to his injury, the second highest among Eagles players.
NC State never looked back in the second half, pushing its 17-point lead at the half to as much as 28 in the second half. The team’s stellar second-half performance was led by Bryce, who scored seven of his 14 points in the final frame.
The Wolfpack’s next game will come in the second round of the ACC Tournament where it will face Clemson, in what could be an important game if the team wants to secure its place in the NCAA Tournament.
