Georgia Tech stuns NC State to halt Wolfpack's win streak
N.C. State squandered a game where it led for more time than it trailed on Thursday night as Georgia Tech upset the Wolfpack 78-75 in ACC basketball at McCamish Pavilion.
Georgia Tech (12-18, 5-12 ACC) shot 62.5 percent in the second half and halted a seven-game losing streak. N.C. State (20-10, 10-7 ACC) saw its four-game winning streak end.
"I thought that we didn't get the loose balls that we normally would get," N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. "I thought our guys played extremely hard and gave a great effort. But I thought they beat us to all the loose balls. That's something we have to get better at before we play Saturday (against Louisville)."
Tadric Jackson scored 22 for Georgia Tech, which shot 51.6 percent for the game. Ben Lammers added 20 points, including eight in the game's final three minutes, five seconds.
Allerik Freeman scored 19 for N.C. State, while Torin Dorn added 18 and Omer Yurtseven 17. Braxton Beverly scored 13 points but missed two 3-pointers that would have tied the game in the final 10 seconds.
"It really is tough, to a team that had won just four games in the ACC," Yurtseven said. "Any loss is a bad loss but, I guess you can never accept them really. You just have to learn from them."
N.C. State led the entire first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half before Georgia Tech took its first lead at 58-55 with 9:58 to play.
The Yellow Jackets led 67-63 with 4:33 left when N.C. State pushed back.
Braxton Beverly scored on a drive through the lane and, after a Yellow Jackets’ miss in the lane, Dorn drove the lane to score and draw a foul.
His free throw with 3:28 left gave the Wolfpack a 68-67 lead.
The lead changed hands on the next five trips down the court with Lammers giving Georgia Tech a 73-72 lead on a scoop shot with 1:48 left.
NC State was unable to answer when Freeman was called for an offensive foul for a push-off with 1:29 left. Lammers scored again inside, giving the Yellow Jackets a 75-72 lead.
Jackson blocked Beverly's layup attempt and Josh Okogie's 3-pointer pushed the Yellow Jackets' lead to 78-72 with 37 seconds to play.
N.C. State led by as many as nine points in the first half and led 48-40 with 16:02 to play in the game.
With a chance to push the lead to double digits, Dorn drove the lane and soared for a tomahawk dunk in traffic. But he missed and the ball bounced off the rim to halfcourt where Georgia Tech started an easy fast break.
Jackson’s dunk on that fast break started a stretch where Georgia Tech scored on its next six possessions in a row.
Another Jackson dunk with 12:53 left cut N.C. State's lead to 53-51.
A Dorn rebound basket put the Wolfpack up 55-51 but Georgia Tech scored the next seven points as N.C. State produced three empty possessions in a row. Brandon Alston’s 3-pointer with 9:58 left gave Georgia Tech its first lead of the game.
Earlier, N.C. State scored the game’s first seven points and, thanks to sloppy Georgia Tech play on offense, took a 38-31 halftime lead.
The Wolfpack saw four of its players whistled for two fouls each in the first half, including three starters (Markell Johnson, Beverly and Dorn).
But the Yellow Jackets failed to take advantage as they made just 4 of 11 free throws. Georgia Tech shot 40 percent overall in the first half and turned the ball over 10 times.
Still, with 6:14 left in the first half, Josh Okogie’s 3-pointer left Georgia Tech trailing 22-20.
That’s when N.C. State went on a strong run of offense to extend its lead again.
The Wolfpack made five of its next six shots and scored on seven consecutive possessions.
The first four baskets all came inside -- Malik Abu slammed in a Freeman miss, Yursteven hit two shots and Freeman drove for a layup.
When Beverly hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:29 to play in the half, N.C. State led 36-29.
This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech stuns NC State to halt Wolfpack's win streak."