After Keatts ejected, NC State roars. How Wolfpack defeated Wake Forest in gritty win
N.C. State beat Wake Forest Tuesday in a game many probably believed would be remembered more for Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts being ejected than the final score — an 83-76 Pack victory.
The Wolfpack (13-4, 5-1 ACC) trailed by 10 points at halftime and the Demon Deacons (12-5, 4-2) were doing so many things right. But the Pack staged a valiant comeback in the second half that turned Wolfpack jeers to cheers and became a big win.
N.C. State is 5-1 in the ACC for the first time since the 1988-89 season. D.J. Horne had 21 points for the Pack, offsetting a big night by the Deacs’ Andrew Carr, who had a game-high 28.
“Well, what a game,” Keatts said. “These young men believe and they’re fighting,”
Keatts, coaching despite fighting an illness, ripped off his protective mask and charged on to the floor with 3:22 left in the first half. Already perturbed by an earlier touch foul against guard D.J. Horne, Keatts was enraged after the Pack’s Dennis Parker Jr. drove to the basket and drew a lot of contact from Wake’s Matthew Marsh — with no whistle.
Keatts had seen enough. Once on the floor, he was quickly hit for a technical foul by referee Jeffrey Anderson. Not done, Keatts continued to berate Anderson, earning a second technical.
With that, Keatts was gone, ejected. The Pack was turned over to assistant coach Kareem Richardson and the staff.
The Deacons, who converted all four technical free throws, led 45-35 at halftime. Carr had scored 19 and Kevin Miller 12 in the period for Wake Forest, which was beaten twice by the Pack last season.
The Pack, after some time to cool off, made a push to start the second half. A few more calls again went against the Wolfpack — or so State fans believed — and the Deacs took advantage to stay in front.
But the Wolfpack continued to push. After a layup by Mohamed Diarra pulled the Pack within 53-49 with 13:39 left in regulation, Deacs coach Steve Forbes called a timeout. It was time for the Deacs to take some time to regain their composure.
Efton Reid scored and Hunter Sallis followed with a 3 and then a jumper. The Deacs surged to a 60-49 lead, again putting the Pack in a hole, but that lead soon dissolved.
The Pack was within 64-63, but Carr knocked down a jumper just before the shot clock expired — big basket. It was 66-65, and Carr came through again, draining a 3 from the left corner with 3:46 left.
But the Pack wasn’t done. It tightened up on defense and Casey Morsell’s two free throws finally pushed the Pack in front 71-69 with 2:17 left.
Horne gave the Pack a four-point lead with a drive but Carr answered with a three-point play.
Ben Middlebrooks, such a big part of the Pack’s second-half comeback, muscled in a shot and was fouled with 46 seconds left. There was a lot of shoves and jawing among the players after the basket before the refs restored order.
Technical fouls were called on Diarra, Middlebrooks and Wake’s Sallis. Diarra and Sallis were ejected after officials said they head-butted each other. Middlebrooks fouled out and Michael O’Connell made his free throw to complete the 3-point play for a 76-72 lead.
O’Connell hit a pair at the line with 22.9 seconds left for an 80-74 lead, then another for an 81-76 lead.
Three takeaways from the game:
Carr revved up
The Deacons’ Carr seemed to play with added motivation this night. He had that look.
The Pack’s DJ Burns had a career-high 31 points last season in the game in Winston-Salem. Forbes decided to man-up and not double team Burns, and that strategy backfired as the Deacs’ post players could not handle him alone.
Burns had another 21 points when the teams faced off in Raleigh later in the season, although Jarkel Joiner led the Pack with 29 in a 90-74 win.
“I don’t think there was any personal animosity from past matchups, but it’s always a big game when it’s an in-state rival you play twice a year.” Carr said.
Whatever the motivation, Carr was ready for Tuesday’s game and the Deacs doubled Burns at times. Burns, said to have a stomach bug, had 10 points.
Carr’s 19 points in the opening half came on 7-of-8 shooting from the field including a pair of 3-pointers, and he finished with a career-high 28 in what he called a bittersweet game.
“Definitely pretty disappointing in the way the game ended,” he said. “It definitely hurts.”
Defense gets it done
The Pack’s Horne was asked after the game about what it took to swing the momentum in the second half.
“Defense, defense and some more defense,” he said.
“We won it with our defense and just sticking together as a team, as one.”
The Deacons had 16 turnovers in the game that the Pack converted in 14 points. Wake Forest missed 20 of its 30 shots in the second half as the Wolfpack played with more intensity and energy and banged the boards -- State’s Mo Diarra closing with a game-high 13 rebounds.
“We kind of played at their pace and didn’t slow it down and do what we were trying to do and execute as well as we would have liked,” Carr said.
Horne said that’s become the Pack’s M.O. this season -- win with D.
“Defense is starting to become our identity,” he said. “We didn’t hit a 3 the whole game. Whenever we go through lulls like that we’re always going to rely on defense.”
Deacs are solid team
The Deacons are an interesting team and Forbes has done a good job fitting the pieces, new and old, together this season.
Wake Forest was averaging 80.9 points a game before Tuesday and has been playing better defense than last year’s group, which could be lax on D.
Sallis, the 6-5 transfer from Gonzaga, has been Wake’s leading scorer. Kevin Miller, who played at Central Michigan, has been getting 17 points a game and came into Tuesday’s game fourth in the ACC in assists.
Cameron Hildreth forces shots -- the junior guard was 3-13 from the field, 0-4 on 3’s Tuesday -- and big man Efton Reid fouls a bit too much, but it’s a team capable of pushing for an NCAA berth despite the loss.
This story was originally published January 16, 2024 at 9:31 PM.
