Season Summary:
When asked after the game, Coach Wade said, “It was an disappointing ending to a disappointing season.” And I think that sums it up well for us all.
He immediately spoke about needing to do a better job with next season’s roster and plans to go to work on it right away. Hopefully that work is well underway.
But to give due credit, the program has taken a turn in the right direction, just not to the degree we expected. Last season ended 12-19 5-15. This season had 8 more overall wins
and 5 more conference wins. The Wolfpack made the tournament. And overall there has been a dramatic increase in enthusiasm for the program. Next season’s team will tell us a lot about the future of the program. For now, IT’S PORTALING TIME!
Game Summary:
The first half was rough to watch. Darrion Williams looked like the player we’d hoped for early, but no one else could do anything. Quadir Copeland could not hit a layup. At the second timeout, it was 12-16 and Darrion had 10 of NC State’s points. Texas started hot from 3PT again, hitting 3-3 out of the gate. The Wolfpack adjusted and cut what was a 12 rebound advantage down to 7 and started to hit some shots and closed the half on a 6-0 run to get within one point, 29-30.
The second half was a battle, NC State played tough all the way. The Wolfpack took the lead on a McNeil 3PT shot in the first 2 minutes but could not hold it. The Pack kept the Longhorns within 5 for the rest of the game but was never able to get easy baskets. At the under 4 minute official timeout the lead was 53-58 and NC State proceeded to turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions. But McNeil heated up and hit back-to-back 3PT and Williams followed with another one putting the Wolfpack within one at 65-66. Tre Holloman drove the basket and was fouled but only hit one to tie it at 66 with 18 seconds left. With one second left, the Longhorn’s Tramon Mark hit a jumper for the final score.
Overall Takeaways:
- The Pack played solid defense, holding Texas to zero 3PT shots in the second half
- The Wolfpack won the point in the paint 32-28
- NC State continued its season long inability to rebound, losing the battle 33-45
- The Pack missed a lot of layups, Copeland was 7-16 and most, if not all, of his misses were layups
Coach Wade Post Game Comments
Individual Highlights
- Paul McNeil finished the season tied with DJ Horne for most 3PT shots made in one season with 105
- Darrion Williams finished his career shooting well scoring 21 points 44.4% / 50% / 100%
- Quadir Copeland led rebounding with 8
- Tre Holloman led assists with 4
- Quadir Copeland led steals with 4
Player Stats and Box Score
