Lacey’s On-time as State wins 81-80

Trevor Lacey came up with a dramatic game winner from distance as time expired to save the day as the Pack escaped the Yellow Jackets to earn their 5th ACC win. Early on the Pack raced out to a comfortable lead behind Cat Barber’s outstanding shooting. The sophomore showed off an excellent touch from three as he hit 4 in the 1st half. His hot shooting continued as he finished the half with 18 points on 70% shooting. I cannot express how good this team is when they are running their offense inside and then looking outside to the perimeter. To start the game State had  excellent high low action as Kyle found Abu for a couple beautiful baskets as Abu worked hard off the ball to get position. Just as GT started to collapse on the interior Cat found the touch from the outside. I am not sure what the pregame meal was, but I think it should be on the menu each and every game for Cat. He looked confident and didn’t hesitate. Cat Barber was the reason the Pack held a 9 point advantage at the intermission.

In the second half the Yellow Jackets punished the Wolfpack underneath. In today’s contest NC State was out-rebounded 49-31. That is not a typo. The only reason this game was close was because GT pounded the glass and had an unbelievable 22 offensive rebounds. Our guys must do a better job at putting a body on their man and stop trying to out jump people. All too often the Yellow Jacket big men out muscled us. Cox and Mitchell had 12 offensive rebounds combined for Georgia Tech. This caused the Pack to scramble defensively which led to Georges-Hunt scoring a game high 23 points. It has been a troubling trend for the Pack to allow perimeter scorers to have big night after big night since the FSU game. Someone can earn big time minutes if they can prove to be a lock down defender on the outside.

Coach Gottfried said after the game that he has seen Trevor Lacey come up with big time plays in big moments since high school. The play was similar to the Wofford shot that was a tenth of a second too late. Cody Martin grabbed the rebound off the missed free throw and found Lacey at half court. Trevor then took a couple of dribbles to pull up with a hand in his face…As the ball glided through the air the red light illuminated just before the ball splashed through the net! Trevor unleashed his signature grin as his teammates raced to celebrate the victory. Should this game of been decided by a buzzer beater in OT? Absolutely not, but this could prove to be a great momentum boost for our squad as the season presses on. Any win on the road in the ACC is a good win in my opinion.

State must sure up the boards as they travel to Wake Forest to face the Demon Deacons this Tuesday at 8PM. Standing 5-5 in the ACC with 8 games left leaves the Pack with plenty of opportunities to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. However the Pack must practice good fundamentals if they are going to see their names’ called on Selection Sunday. The only reason we were able to escape with a win today; despite getting hammered on the boards was because Georgia Tech was inferior  to the Pack. We will not be able to secure another signature win against a team of class without playing with a solid effort in all phases of the game. The standings can change in a moment’s notice given the competitive nature of the ACC. Let’s hope the Pack can find a way to navigate their way to the top as the season marches on.