Overview:
Not sure if they were tired from the 7:45 AM practice they had this morning, or if Darrion Williams’ sore shoulder was the cause, but NC State started slowly and trailed UNC Asheville early in the game. I think tired legs might have contributed to the 29% 3PT shooting. The Wolfpack finally took the lead for good with five minutes left in the first half and never trailed again for the game. NC State was the better team but could never quite put them away.
Game Summary:
The first half started
with a surprise start by Scottie Ebube. He took Paul McNeil’s spot in the lineup and promptly won the jump ball. He got a couple of rebounds and had a turnover, and after a couple of minutes was replaced by Matt Able. At the second official TO UNC-A was up 14-7. The Pack tied it at 25 at the 4:50 mark and never trailed again. NC State led every stat category except shooting percentages and steals at the half. The Pack used it’s depth, 11 players got minutes.
The second half was more anticlimactic. The Wolfpack stretched the lead to as much as 13 points and kept a 5-6 point cushion the rest of the way, but UNC-A kept fighting back and cut the lead to 7 with under six minutes left. But NC State went on a 14-9 run to close it out.
Overall Takeaways:
- The Pack AGAIN let the opponent shoot well from 3PT. UNC-A shot a very healthy 42% and made 10.
- The Pack won the rebounding battle 38-32.
- NC State dominated points in the paint, 40-14.
- The Wolfpack continued it’s solid FT shooting, shooting 80% as a team
Coach Wade Post Game Comments
Individual Highlights
- Ven Lubin got a double-double with 23 / 12, he led scoring and rebounding.
- Quadir Copeland had 8 assists and Darrion Williams had 6
- Matt Able blocked 2 shots
- Quadir Copeland had 3 steals
Player Stats and Box Score
