NC State basketball’s late rally against Duke falls short as Pack falls to Blue Devils
There is no loss that’s acceptable in the ACC, home or away, underdog or not.
For N.C. State, losing 71-67 at Duke on Tuesday stung. It came in a game that probably was closer than many expected, given the Pack’s rout of the Blue Devils in early January in Raleigh, but it stung.
Duke was undefeated at home, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils had won four in a row. It was all coming together for them, and at the right time of the season.
The Wolfpack? It was hammered 96-71 at home by Clemson on Saturday. Terquavion Smith wasn’t shooting the ball well. Jack Clark was injured, again. The defense was mediocre against the Tigers.
But the Pack doggedly made a game of it Tuesday, even with Smith not making a basket until the last two minutes and senior guard Casey Morsell, one of the ACC’s best 3-point shooters, going 0-8 from the field and 0-5 on 3’s.
“We fought through a lot of adversity and we had a couple of our starters who I think didn’t play well,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “Man, but the fight in our team is so great, I just told them to keep fighting. With maybe 40 seconds left it was a one-possession game.
“I told them in the locker room we’ve had a really good regular season (with) 22 wins and 12 conference wins. There’s so much to be proud of and we have to turn our attention to the tournament.”
That will be the ACC tournament in Greensboro, and the Wolfpack (22-9, 12-8) will have plenty of time to prepare for it. The Duke game was the Pack’s last of the regular season. Their first game in Greensboro is not until Wednesday, providing time to reevaluate and re-set for the postseason.
“You would rather learn a lesson from a win, but you can always take something from the game and we’ve got a little bit of time,” Keatts said. “We’re the only (ACC) team that doesn’t play Saturday, so we have to have a good balance between working on some stuff, getting a little rest, taking care of bodies and growing from everything.”
Smith and Morsell struggled against the Blue Devils’ aggressive man defense, Morsell forcing shots and Smith finding it hard to find good shots. D.J. Burns had 13 points and probably should have been at the foul line more in the game considering the amount of contact the big man absorbed on his touches in the lane — Burns shot one free throw.
“It’s a little harder being double-teamed by two 7-footers,” Burns said of Duke’s Dereck Lively II and Kyle Filipowski.
But the Pack’s Jarkel Joiner had another game that should make him worthy of All-ACC consideration. The point guard shook off an early ankle injury — awkwardly wedging his right foot under the bottom of press row at Cameron — to score 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, and knocked down six of his 12 shots from 3-point range.
It was a Joiner 3 in the second half that pulled the Pack within 46-44 after the Blue Devils had spurted to a 10-point lead and had Cameron rumbling.
Some bad shot selection by the Pack at that point allowed Duke to surge ahead by 12 with 8:39 remaining, but the Wolfpack again clawed back. This time, a traveling call on Joiner as he drove the lane after a steal hurt with the Pack within 59-53.
Clark was injured against Wake Forest last week when he fell after a dunk, and missed the Clemson game. But the forward warmed up Tuesday, decided he could go and had 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Clark sat out 10 games with a groin tear, then had the fall. But he was productive Tuesday and should help the Pack in the postseason with his size and rebounding.
“It’s amazing having him back,” Burns said. “He comes in and he might not say too much or show too many facial expressions, but he’s one of the hardest-working people on the court every time.”
Smith is another hard worker and Joiner said the team is confident the guy they call “Baby T” will relocate his shooting touch — the sophomore was 2-for-9 and scored eight points Tuesday.
“He’s a pro, man,” Joiner said. “He don’t have no conscious. Get in the gym this week and shake it off. We’ve got a new season Wednesday.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 11:02 PM.
