NC State upsets No. 15 Virginia on the road for third consecutive victory
As the shot clock ran down and a 7-footer running his way, Cam Hayes banked in a long 3-pointer.
It was desperation shots like that, shots that fell, a sure sign that little could go wrong for N.C. State. The Wolfpack may have a chance to salvage its season and next month it might look back at its 68-61 win over No. 15 Virginia as the turning point.
N.C. State won its third game in a row. It also won its fourth consecutive ACC game on the road, something it hasn’t done since the 1973-74 season, and is trending in the right direction at the right time. It was the Wolfpack’s second straight win at UVA (15-6, 11-4) and just its second win in John Paul Jones Arena in 10 attempts.
N.C. State has now gone on the road and came away with wins at Boston College, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and UVA.
The Wolfpack only trailed for 88 seconds, basically controlling the game from the start. N.C. State led by as many as 14 in the first half and was up by double digits midway through the second half after a dunk by D.J. Funderburk.
Hayes led the team in scoring with 16 points, one of three players in double figures for the Pack (11-9, 7-8). It was the third straight game in double digits for Hayes, who is looking more comfortable in his role at point guard.
“I feel like it’s my confidence, just me believing in myself more,” Hayes said. “I can credit my teammates for lifting me up and making sure I keep my head straight.”
Funderburk finished 14 points and Shakeel Moore had 12. Kevin Keatts has led the Wolfpack to 16 ACC road wins during his tenure in Raleigh. UVA was the fourth ranked team N.C. State faced this season and its second win.
“We talked over the last two or three weeks about playing a complete game,” Keatts said. “To say how proud I am of these guys, it’s really unbelievable the fight that we’ve shown over the last three weeks.”
Each player who saw action for the Pack scored and the Pack’s defense bottled up the UVA duo of Jay Huff and Sam Hauser in the first half. They got it going in the second half, but N.C. State did just enough to shut down the rest of Virginia’s roster to secure the win. Huff and Hauser combined for 37 UVA points, but two players weren’t going to be enough to beat the Pack, which made its last 13 straight from the foul line.
N.C. State dodged a bullet late, turning the ball over to UVA with 15.4 seconds left and a four-point lead. But Hauser missed a 3 from the top of the key with 8.6 remaining. Dereon Seabron hit one from the stripe to make it a five-point advantage. Kihei Clark turned the ball over back to State with 1.6 left, securing the Wolfpack win.
N.C. State’s defense held UVA to 37 percent shooting and 7 of 25 from 3. The Wolfpack also dominated inside, outscoring the Cavaliers 30-16 in the paint.
“Me and Manny (Bates) are just really tenacious, we don’t give up,” Funderburk said. “Personally, we don’t think any other bigs in the ACC are better than us and that’s just the mentality that we’ve been trying to keep and it worked out today.”
Keatts said he felt like his team played 17 great minutes in the first half and had a three-minute lapse. He watched his team hit their first three shots from 3-point range and jump ahead by as many as 14. Against a UVA team that holds teams below 60 points per game, seeing the ball fall through the net early was important for the Wolfpack.
“They are one of the best, if not best defensive teams in the country,” Keatts said. “So it’s always important to be able to make shots. I thought our guys came out with great energy. It’s tough to score against those guys, and we found some areas we can score in.”
The Wolfpack has three games remaining in the regular season with a home game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, followed by a road trip to Notre Dame before closing the season out at home versus Virginia Tech on March 6. As it stands, the Pack is on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, but if State wins out the regular season and gets hot in the ACC Tournament, anything can happen.
“I’m happy for these guys because we are handling success the right way,” Keatts said. “We’re building a great team.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 6:27 PM.
