NC State fights past Georgia Tech for ACC basketball victory, 72-64
N.C. State center D.J. Burns has made a habit of handing out his sunglasses after Wolfpack games to a player he decides was vital in a victory.
Burns had 24 points Saturday as the Pack fought past Georgia Tech 72-64 at PNC Arena, so it would have been a good time to keep the shades to himself.
Burns did wear them after the game in the locker room but also was quick to hand them over to Ernest Ross, the 6-foot-9 sophomore who again gave the Pack a big jolt of energy in a game when it was needed.
Ross scored 16 points, getting 12 in the first half when the Wolfpack (19-5, 9-4 ACC) played from behind and spent much of the period trying to solve the Yellow Jackets’ mobile 1-3-1 zone that was successful in containing guards Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner.
Smith ignited for 32 points Wednesday as the Wolfpack routed Florida State at PNC Arena, but he was limited to five Saturday, albeit with a team-high 10 assists. Joiner, a forgotten man in the Pack offense this day, also had five points as the two combined for 3-for-17 shooting from the field — 2 of 12 on 3-pointers.
“But we found a way to win when our two superstars didn’t play their best game,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said.
Burns, playing 37 minutes, did his usual wheeling and dealing down low, scoring 14 points in the opening half as Georgia Tech started Ja’von Franklin, a 6-7 senior, ahead of 6-11 Rodney Howard. That was a change from the Pack’s 78-66 win in Atlanta on Jan. 17, when Burns often was matched against Howard and not the smaller, quicker Franklin.
Casey Morsell, with 17 points, again played a big part in a Wolfpack win. His 3-pointer just before the first-half buzzer gave the Pack a 41-35 lead at the break, and his corner 3 with 2:06 remaining in the game was bigger, pushing the Pack ahead 65-61.
“We have high-level scorers who draw a lot of attention, and I just have to be ready to shoot,” Morsell said. “I was ready. We just have so many options on the offensive end.”
With the Jackets leading 61-60 at the under-4 media timeout, Keatts told his team they needed a string of defensive stops to win the game. The Pack did that, turning to a zone press that confounded the Jackets, who had three of their 17 turnovers and missed seven shots in the last 3:51 of the game.
N.C. State closed it out at the foul line. Joiner hit a pair of free throws and then Ross was 4-for-4 at the line.
The Jackets’ only basket in the final four minutes was a 3-pointer by Deebo Coleman with 25 seconds left. Georgia Tech (8-15 1-12) got 17 points from Miles Kelly and 16 from Franklin.
“This (victory) means a lot because last year we had some teams pulling out wins in game like this against us,” said Ross, who had seven rebounds and two blocks in his 23 minutes. “We’d lose like two- or three-point games. Now, we have a good chance of winning.”
Georgia Tech had lost eight straight games and was completely dismantled recently at Duke, losing 86-43. But the Yellow Jackets knocked down shots early, played with confidence and led much of the first half, once taking a 19-11 lead.
Keatts was loud and demanding in some early timeouts, later smiling and conceding he was “mad as hell” about the Pack’s defense. The Wolfpack responded and ended the first half with a 10-0 run, but the Yellow Jackets kept it close until the final minutes of the game.
“We got off to a slow start but we picked it up, and I’m glad we got this win,” Burns said. “As coach likes to say, it’s way better to learn from a win than a loss.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2023 at 3:14 PM.
