NC State snaps two-game slide, holds off Pittsburgh for road win
The final sequence of the N.C. State-Pittsburgh game and the way it turned out almost makes one believe the Wolfpack finally found some good fortune in 2021.
In a season when more has gone wrong than right for Kevin Keatts and his team, N.C. State caught multiple breaks, leaving the Steel City with a 74-73 win over the Panthers.
Freshman guard Cam Hayes hit two free throws to put the Pack up by three with 23 seconds remaining. Moments earlier, Pitt’s best player, sophomore forward Justin Champagnie, mishandled the basketball with a chance to put the Panthers back in front. D.J. Funderburk scored an old-fashioned three-point play to put N.C. State up one.
After Hayes calmly knocked down his two from the line, Champagnie, the leading scorer in the ACC, attacked the basket, drawing a foul from sophomore forward Manny Bates. Champagnie hit both to make it a one-point game, but Hayes turned the ball over with 9.3 seconds remaining.
The Panthers got a couple of attempts at a game-winner, but Au’Diese Toney and Champagnie both missed shots at a win in the final seconds. Hayes walked off the court surrounded by teammates who encouraged the rookie after his late turnover. But the victory made them forget about that play and Keatts told the media after the game that his team took a step in the right direction Wednesday night.
“Give my guys a lot of credit,” Keatts said. “I’m proud of my young dudes, they grew up today.”
Yes, the young dudes took a step in the right direction, but it was the older dudes who put the Wolfpack (9-9, 5-8 ACC) in a position to pick up its 11th consecutive win over the Panthers (9-8, 5-7).
Junior Jericole Hellems led the team with 17 points and senior D.J. Funderburk finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. An unexpected spark came from senior guard Braxton Beverly. After leaving the Duke game with an injury last weekend, Beverly didn’t practice at all the rest of the week, but came off the bench to score 12 points.
“It’s not easy,” Beverly said about not practicing this week, then playing 22 minutes. “I’ve been trying to do what I can the past two or three days to keep my legs under me, keep my conditioning. It helps that I have my teammates staying positive for me. That plays a bigger role than you think.”
For the first time since senior guard Devon Daniels’ season-ending injury, Keatts had two guards in double figures. Hayes, who has struggled after a hot start to the season, finished with 11 points, his first double-digit game since Dec. 3.
Guard Thomas Allen missed the game due to injury, so Hayes and Shakeel Moore had to pick up the back court slack. The duo cut down on the turnovers and combined for 15 assists.
Hayes looked like a fifth-year senior, calm and composed as he stood at the line with 22 seconds remaining.
Is the Wolfpack turning the corner?
Even the smallest thing, including a road win over a struggling Pitt team, is a sign of growth for the Wolfpack.
The Pack only had 14 turnovers, and forced 14. N.C. State scored 21 points off turnovers, improving to 8-0 when they score 19 or more points off turnovers.
The Wolfpack and Panthers each entered the game with two-game losing streaks, so this game was going to come down to who wanted it more.
N.C. State’s final field goal came with 1:41 remaining, Funderburk’s tough basket, but used field goals and crucial stops on the defensive end to win its fifth game inside Petersen Events Center since Pitt joined the ACC.
“This win was extremely important for us,” Funderburk said. “One of us had to come out with the win, it was just a matter of who wanted it the most. We had to do whatever it took to win the game.”
Whatever it took meant Keatts trusting the ball in the hands of Moore, Hayes and guard Dereon Seabron more. Keatts said collectively, it was their best performance of the season. The freshman trio combined for 21 points, each showing more confidence. They still made their share of mistakes — a crucial Seabron pass attempt to Hayes that resulted in a turnover with 4:08 remaining could have been the end for the Wolfpack — but their poise showed the optimism of what their future could hold.
“They are learning on the job,” Keatts said. “I think they answered a lot of questions for me and they are going to continue to get better.”
N.C. State had 19 assists, tying their season-high in ACC play. Bates had a rare stat line with more assists (3) than blocks (1).
“I do think our guys took a big step forward,” Keatts said. “I’m proud of our guys, this is a great road win for us.”
The Pack will travel to Winston-Salem on Saturday to take on Wake Forest.
Here are updates from earlier in the game:
FOULS CATCHING UP WITH NC STATE
N.C. State connected on 8-of-12 shots from the floor to start the second half, but the Panthers got out on the break, scoring easy baskets in transition to hang around.
The Wolfpack led by seven, but Pittsburgh scored six fast-break points to pull within three. Jericole Hellems, who earlier in the half hit four straight free throws (consecutive technical fouls against the Panthers) was called for a technical foul of his own.
Justin Champagnie missed both of the technical shots, but hit two foul shots to pull the Panthers to within one, 60-59, with 7:47 remaining. It was part of an 8-2 run for Pittsburgh. The call versus Hellems sent the junior wing to the bench with his fourth foul. State has four players with at least three fouls.
NC STATE 40, PITTSBURGH 39: HALFTIME
Pitt’s Au’Diese Toney nailed a three at the buzzer to end the first half, highlighting the Panthers’ late run to close out the opening 20 minutes.
N.C. State led by as many as 10 (28-18) but Pittsburgh went to a zone defense that had the Wolfpack stumped in the final eight minutes. N.C. State never surrendered the lead, but the Panthers outscored the Pack 21-12 in the last 8:22.
Pittsburgh stayed in the game by shooting 50% from the floor. N.C. State got off to a hot start led by junior forward Jericole Hellems and senior guard Braxton Beverly, but both players picked up two fouls and spent a good portion of the half on the bench.
Senior forward D.J. Funderburk picked up the scoring slack, finishing with 13 points (and five rebounds) in the first half. Funderburk had two of the four field goals the Pack converted in the last eight minutes. He was going toe-to-toe with Toney, who led all scorers with 14 first-half points.
The N.C. State freshman duo of Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore combined for all 12 assists for the Wolfpack in the first half.
Braxton Beverly looks fresh
Braxton Beverly’s hip and back looked fine early versus Pittsburgh. The N.C. State senior guard, who left the game early Duke game last Saturday because of an injury, got off to a hot start on Wednesday.
Beverly’s first made basket, a running twisted heave as the shot clock expired, got him going. The 5-10 guard had seven points in eight minutes of action.
Jericole Hellems followed Beverly’s lead and had nine at the under-eight timeout. Hellems, who has become the leading scorer without Devon Daniels, hit a long three to put State up 28-18, their biggest lead of the opening minutes.
The Pack got back to forcing turnovers, scoring 11 points off six Pittsburgh mishaps.
NC State travels to Pittsburgh for an early afternoon ACC contest.
The Pack will play the Panthers without junior guard Thomas Allen, who was injured in practice on Monday.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 5:38 PM.
