State Survives Sloppy Outing vs Tigers 66-61

Defense must be what NC State hangs their hats on each game. The second half was a clinic as the Pack was able to crank up the defensive pressure and held Clemson without a FG for 14 consecutive minutes. The way State accomplished this task was in their ability to keep Clemson out of the paint. Our guards were fantastic with their on-ball defense and consistently forced Clemson to attack horizontally in the second half. Not to be out done by the guards NC State big men were solid in securing the glass and great in giving help-side defense.

At times this game was difficult to watch as the Pack struggled mightily to find a scoring touch. Trevor Lacey had an uncharacteristic night as he was 2-11 from the field; however,  State found a way to get the win despite their leader having an off night. As much as Trevor struggled his partner in crime Ralston Turner picked up the slack. The Red-Shirt Senior was excellent tonight as he found a way to fight through a hard nose defense to score 23 points. Even though Ralston wasn’t too impressive from the field (4-12) he got himself to the free-throw line. On the night he finished 12-15 from the charity stripe and was able to keep the Tigers at distance down the stretch.

I cannot express how clutch the Wolfpack was from the free-throw line as both Ralston and Caleb were able to step up and knock down their shots in the waning moments of the game. Clemson proved to not give up as they found a way to extend the game. Gabe DeVoe hit some incredibly difficult shots in the last minute to keep the Tigers close. He finished the game with 18 points and was the key reason why this game seemed like it would not end. Cat Barber finished with 16 points but was very generous in turning the ball over as he had 7 TO’s. Rod Hall played Cat very well and used his experience to force Cat into some difficult positions. State was very lucky to escape Little John Coliseum with a win as Lacey and Barber were less than spectacular. I will note that even though Cat made mistakes he continued to play hard and contributed some key plays that were important to keep the Pack on top.

With tonight’s win NC State finds themselves at 9-8 in the ACC with one game remaining. Personally I think that it speaks volumes about our team as they were able to forget a terrible outing two days ago at Boston College. Our guys were tough all night and did not allow Clemson to get a win on Senior Night. As we take a step back the Pack is 4-1 in their last 5 outings with wins at Louisville, UNC, and now at Clemson. I think that’s pretty impressive as each venue has given the Wolfpack struggles in the past. This Saturday NC State must be prepared to defend their home court as they host the Syracuse Orangemen. This will be the last game of the season for Syracuse as they are ineligible for post season play. You better believe that they are going to come out and play with outstanding effort and energy. It is important that State gets a win this Saturday as a win would lock them into the NCAA Tournament. Tip-Off is scheduled for 12PM. You can catch the action on CBS.