NC State basketball snaps six-game ACC losing streak with 76-61 win at Georgia Tech
Terquavion Smith wasn’t going to be in a slump forever.
The N.C. State freshman guard broke out of whatever was going on for him and lit up Georgia Tech Tuesday night. Behind Smith’s 26 points, the Wolfpack knocked off the Yellow Jackets, 76-61.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for N.C. State. It was the first win over Georgia Tech for the Wolfpack (11-16, 4-12 ACC) under Kevin Keatts.
If Smith keeps playing like this, Keatts might never lose to the Yellow Jackets (10-15, 3-11) again. Smith’s first basket of the night was a 3-pointer and he finished with six made 3s. That gives him 79 made 3-pointers this season, which leads the ACC. The N.C. State freshman record is 89, held by Maverick Rowan.
“He was great,” Keatts said. “This kid is playing far beyond a freshman. He was poised. He came out hot and kept us going. His energy was infectious and it got passed on to the next guy.”
N.C. State led 51-25 at the break, the most its scored in a first half this season.
“I thought the first half was beautiful basketball,” Keatts said. “It was the first half where I felt like we played really, really good on both ends of the floor. I thought we shared the ball, we made shots and we did a great job of defending.”
At halftime Smith and Cam Hayes had more points combined (30) than Georgia Tech.
In the previous two games, Smith and Hayes were a combined 5-37. Smith was 4-18 from deep against Wake Forest and Pittsburgh.
The 6-4 rookie guard was aggressive early against the Yellow Jackets. He had two emphatic dunks that lifted his already contagious energy. His second slam put the Pack up 41-18. A layup moments later from Hayes made it 43-20, which at the time was the largest lead of the year for N.C. State. That lead grew to 26 at the break. Behind Smith and company, the Pack led by as many as 30.
The only thing that slowed Smith down was foul trouble. He went to the bench with his fourth foul with 14:45 remaining in the game. While he was out, the N.C. State offense fell flat. The margin was so wide it didn’t matter. Georgia Tech only got as close to 17 while Smith sat.
“We didn’t finish the way we started,” Keatts said. “But our guys did a good job making shots down the stretch.”
The Wolfpack maintained control throughout the game. N.C. State led the entire game after jumping out to a 10-0 lead. Four players scored in double figures, a balanced scoring attack that Keatts has lacked during the six-game slide.
While the Yellow Jackets couldn’t figure out how to contain Smith, Hayes (14), Jericole Hellems (15) and Dereon Seabron (11) did enough damage to maintain the blowout. It was the first time since a win over Virginia on Jan. 22 that the Big 3 — Smith, Hellems, Seabron — all scored in double figures.
“I’m proud of Cam,” Keatts said. “I thought he was aggressive, he didn’t settle, he made shots. He was very active and locked in. I thought he did some good stuff on the defensive side also.”
It was the ninth 20-point game for Smith, and the first time he’s eclipsed the 20-point mark since Feb. 2 against Syracuse. N.C. State knocked down 11 3-point shots. That was the first time in three games the Pack hit double-digit 3-pointers.
Georgia Tech was the only ACC team Keatts hadn’t beaten since taking over at N.C. State. The Wolfpack returns to action on Feb. 23, hosting Boston College at PNC Arena.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:04 PM.
