Reverse mojo. NC State picks up rare win at Wake Forest
Kevin Keatts didn’t bother with a history lesson before N.C. State’s trip to Wake Forest on Saturday.
His team didn’t need one. Senior guard Markell Johnson had 14 points and seven assists and six players scored in double-figures for a 91-82 road over the Demon Deacons.
It was the second win in three trips to Joel Coliseum for Keatts but only the seventh in 30 trips for the Wolfpack (7-2, 1-1 ACC) since 1990.
N.C. State’s struggles in Winston-Salem, in all major sports, weren’t on Keatts’ radar.
“These kids don’t understand that,” Keatts said. “They don’t care about that stuff. They wouldn’t know if we had won 20 games here or if we had lost 20 games here.”
Junior guard Braxton Beverly said he was aware of N.C. State’s road problems with the Deacs (5-5, 0-2).
“I’ve heard that around campus,” said Beverly, who scored 15 points. “I’ve heard from alumni. I tried to block that out and treat it like another game.”
The only thing Beverly remembered from last season’s 71-67 loss at Wake Forest was the miserable start by the Wolfpack.
“We came out flat and they jumped on us,” Beverly said. “That was one big emphasis for us. We had to come out and throw the first punch and we did.”
N.C. State came out confident and loose at half-empty Joel Coliseum, bringing its own energy and 3-point accuracy. The Wolfpack made its first four 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 12.
Senior guard C.J. Bryce led the Wolfpack with 18 points and sophomore forward Jericole Hellems added 13 before he was injured with 28 seconds left.
Hellems collided with Wake Forest forward Olivier Sarr and guard Chaundee Brown while trying to grab a rebound. All three fell to the floor and Sarr, who is 7-feet and 255 pounds, fell on Hellems.
Hellems was stretchered off the floor and taken to the local hospital and the game was delayed for more than 7 minutes.
Brandon Childress led a late Deacs’ rally. He made 10 of 13 shots and finished with a game-high 30 points. Sarr (12 points) was the only other Wake player in double-digits.
Wake was down by as many as 17 points in the second half before Childress was able to rack up some late numbers. The Deacs turned the ball over 19 times, 12 in the first half while N.C. State was taking control of the game.
“We turned the ball over 19 times and it led to ‘pick 6’ opportunities for them,” said Wake coach Danny Manning making a football comparison.
Manning also wasn’t happy that N.C. State had 12 offensive rebounds or a 21 to 12 advantage on second-chance points.
For the Wolfpack, it was a continuation of its 69-54 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. The defense was good, for about 35 minutes, and the offense shared the ball.
N.C. State finished with 18 assists on 34 field goals. Keatts said he loved the way his team has played since a poor first half in a loss to Memphis on Nov. 28.
He also liked the fact that his team, after a season-opening loss to Georgia Tech at home, evened its league record.
“We felt like the opening game of the year we gave away an ACC game,” Keatts said. “We had to figure out how to get one back.”
And one
Before Hellems went down, he had continued his recent surge with 13 points. The 6-7 wing from St. Louis has averaged 17.6 points per game over the past three games.
Lane violation
Wake Forest played relatively well on a recent three-game trip to California but has gone 0-2 since a competitive loss to Arizona on Dec. 1.
ICYMI
N.C. State didn’t attempt a free-throw until the 6:38 mark in the second half.
Making sense of the numbers
0 Lead changes. N.C. State got a layup from Hellems on its opening possession and never trailed.
4 Johnson has had at least seven assists in four games this season.
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 4:19 PM.
