NC State puts together one of its best offensive games in blowout win over Wake Forest
How good a day did N.C. State have offensively? Senior forward D.J. Funderburk missed his first six shot attempts and still finished in double figures.
It was just one of those games where everything clicked. The Wolfpack put together one of its best offensive games to win its second straight in an 80-62 win over Wake Forest.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts told the media afterwards. “I thought it was the best team basketball we’ve played.”
The Wolfpack finished with five players in double figures and resembled the team that jumped out to a 6-1 start to the season. State scored 50 points in the first half, the most they’ve had in ACC play in the opening half, and never trailed after going up 17-14 on a three from freshman Cam Hayes in the first half.
Hayes, who played high school hoops nearby at Greensboro Day, was one of the stars of the day for the Wolfpack (10-9, 6-8 ACC). In his eighth start, the 6-3 guard got it going early, knocking down consecutive 3s in the first half to spark the team. He finished the game with 11. Hayes didn’t have to worry about carrying the scoring load on a day when everyone who touched the ball appeared to be on their A game.
Senior guard Braxton Beverly knocked down two straight 3s in the first half to push the lead to 13. That came moments after senior forward D.J. Funderburk (11 points) threw down back-to-back dunks in transition. Beverly (10) and Funderburk’s spurt almost made the strong performances by freshman Dereon Seabron (14) and junior Jericole Hellems (14) fly under the radar.
“I just think we played together on the defensive end,” Hellems said when asked what led to the balanced attack, “and stayed rolling with the punches that Wake Forest gave throughout the game.”
Seabron finished with a career-high 14 points, showing off an aggressiveness the wing from Norfolk, Virginia hadn’t shown all season.
“I thought he (Seabron) played well,” Keatts said. “I thought he was energetic. He did a great job.”
Fast-break baskets by Seabron, off a nice dime from Hayes, and Funderburk were just part of the 19 fast-break points for the Wolfpack.
N.C. State also took advantage of its size over Wake Forest (6-11, 3-11). The Pack had 11 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second chance points.
The win in Winston extended the Pack’s win streak over the Demon Deacons to five. N.C. State forced 19 turnovers, improving to 9-1 when the team forced 15 turnovers or more.
Wake Forest was led by former Ravenscroft forward Ian DuBose, who finished with 14. But that wasn’t enough as Wake Forest shot 35% from the floor in the second half.
Its 80 points scored were the second-most in league play this season for N.C. State.
“I thought we took another big step towards maturing,” Keatts said. “I wanted to see how we would play from the end of the Pitt game to the start of Wake and from the first half of the Wake game to the second half. Proud of these guys, excited, a lot of good things, a lot of good things we can build on.”
Here are updates from earlier in the game:
State continues to roll
N.C. State didn’t show any signs of letting up to start the second half. The Pack led by as many as 20 after consecutive layups from D.J. Funderburk and Shakeel Moore.
Wake Forest couldn’t afford to trade baskets with an N.C. State team shooting 50% from the field. At the under-8 timeout, the Pack had five players in double figures and one player, Dereon Seabron (14 points, 7 rebounds) flirting with a double-double. Wake Forest closed the gap on the boards (28-23, State), but couldn’t get out of its own way, turning the ball four times to start the second half.
NC State 51, Wake Forest 35: Halftime
Of the eight players who saw action in the first half for N.C. State, seven scored. That balanced attack allowed the Wolfpack to find a groove after a slow start and take a 51-35 lead at the break.
The scoring outburst was sparked by freshman Cam Hayes, who knocked down back-to-back 3s to light a fire under his team. Hayes gave way to teammates D.J. Funderburk and Braxton Beverly to get in the mix.
After starting the game 0-6 from the floor, Funderburk finished with nine at the half. He had two straight dunks that pushed the lead to 35-18. Beverly, who scored 10 in the half, hit back-to-back triples and State went on a 7-0 run where four different players scored.
Jericole Hellems, Beverly and Dereon Seabron each had 10 at the half. This was the first time all season the team scored 50 points in the first half during conference play.
CAM HAYES TAKES CONTROL
N.C. State’s Cam Hayes felt good early in his first return to play in the Triad. The freshman guard from Greensboro knocked down consecutive 3s to put the Wolfpack up 20-14. In a 30 second span between the triples, he also had a steal. The energy from Hayes must have been contagious as N.C. State pulled ahead by 11 by the under-8 timeout.
The Pack forced eight turnovers, scoring 14 points off those Wake Forest mistakes.
Dereon Seabron was also aggressive early, scoring six points and getting to the foul line for four shots.
PACK LOOKS FOR SEASON SWEEP
N.C. State (9-9, 5-8 ACC) defeated Wake Forest (6-10, 3-10) 72-67 last month in PNC and looks to close out the sweep. For the second straight game, the Pack will be without guard Thomas Allen.
Allen was in a walking boot Wednesday versus Pittsburgh. The Raleigh native wasn’t wearing a boot Saturday.
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 1:47 PM.
