Sophomore Jericole Hellems was the offensive spark that NC State needed last night to beat Wisconsin 69-54 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Two games in a row Hellems has set new career highs. After scoring 17 against Memphis, he led all players in scoring last night with 23 points, sinking 8 of 13 from the floor, and an impressive 4 of 6 from beyond the arch.

In the 1st half, the score changed 12 times, but after Senior Wolfpack Guard Markell Johnson hit a half court shot at the buzzer heading into the half to put NC State up 32-30, they would never lose the lead again.

Wisconsin got a taste of their own medicine, with the Wolfpack shutting them down defensively all game long. The Badgers shot a meager 37.5% from the field and 21.7% from three.

On the other hand, despite what Wisconsin does on the defensive end, the Wolfpack managed to shoot a decent 48.2% from the field, and 40% from beyond the arch.

Despite coming off of the bench due to missing film session on Tuesday night, Senior Guard C.J. Bryce was a stabilizing factor once again, shredding the mid-range jump shot, scoring 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting.

Johnson was the only other player in double figures, but it was an ugly 12, shooting 5-15.

It was a 40-minute effort by the Wolfpack, which will result in a win on most nights.

NC State will head up to Winston-Salem on Saturday to play Wake Forest in their 2nd ACC game at 2pm.

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Head Coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s 69-54 victory over Wisconsin last night. You can watch it here, or check out the bulleted breakdown below.

• Did a lot of really good things tonight.
• Really impressed by our defense.
• Carried over from the 2nd half in the Memphis game, especially when you look at the last 6 or 7 minutes of the half.
• When you’re playing against a Wisconsin team that makes it tough for you to score, if you can find a way to score, certainly you can win the game.
  • Talked leading up to this game, to not get discouraged if you’re not scoring the basketball.
• Proud of Jericole Hellems.
  • He’s been the guy the last 3 games or so who’s played with a lot of energy and done a lot of good things for us, and he’s being rewarded for it.
• Happy with where we’re at. We’ve got to continue to get better, but I thought we learned from the Memphis loss.

Rebounding from Memphis…

• We felt like if we had played better in the 1st half against Memphis, we would have put ourselves in a better situation to win the game.
• I’m always talking about when you lose a game, you’re a little sick. I thought we got well tonight.

Best game of the season…

• You could say that.
• Competed for 40 minutes.

Markell’s half court shot at halftime…(humor)

• I did a great job at halftime.
• I drew up an unbelievable play for Markell Johnson to hit that 3 to go into halftime. I thought that was the best one that I drew up probably in a few years.
• He did a tremendous job making that shot.

Finishing…

• Our key was to play smart.
• Haven’t finished a couple games.
• 2 losses, don’t think we played down the stretch.
• So that may be me, making sure I’ve got the right people in at the end of the game.
• Played with the lead.
• Taught that this is a long season.
  • You’re going to have highs and lows.
  • You’re going to have some games where you’re up 10 to 15 and you’re going to have some games that are going to wear you down.
• Take good shots.
• Run your offense and rely on your defense.

Jericole Hellems…

• He plays with passion and energy.
• In college basketball, there are always 1 or 2 guys on the team that might not be as skilled as the other guys on the team, but he just plays hard.
• He bought in on the defensive end and he’s making shots.
• I actually wanted him to take a few more shots.
  • He passed up on a couple of threes he could have taken.
• He works on his game.

Crowd…

• Very happy with our crowd.
  • I was concerned coming in with a 9:15 p.m. tip.
• Students were tremendous.
• When this place is rocking and we have a lot of people in here, it is a tough place to play.
• As we get better, I want to eventually get to the point where we sell out no matter who we play or what time we play.
• I am proud and happy that everyone turned out tonight for us.

C.J. Bryce not starting…

• He missed film last night.
  • His reasoning for missing film was very valid, but it doesn’t matter to me because he missed film.
• We have standards with what we want to do, so we gave someone else the opportunity.
• That being said, I thought he was mature about it and handled it well.
• I wanted to see if he would pout about it, but I don’t think he did, and he bounced back and made some big plays for us.

Quality Win…

• I hope it goes a long way.
• I hope Wisconsin gets everything together and wins the Big Ten.

NC State handled business last night in Raleigh, defeating Wisconsin 69-54 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The ACC Digital Network’s Highlight Reel and Condensed Game are below.

NC State beat Wisconsin handedly 69-54 last night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, improving to 6-2 on the year. The Box Score is below.

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