The NC State Wolfpack used a massive first-half run to cruise to an 81-65 road victory over Boston College Saturday afternoon. The contest was the first for Boston College since January 16 and featured just five scholarship players due to Covid protocols.
NC State finished 32-for-62 shooting from the floor for 52% while BC was noticeably rusty off the long break finishing 39% for the game going 23-for-59. Neither team shot well from beyond the arc with the Wolfpack connecting on just six of their 18 attempts while the Eagles went 9-for34.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with just under three minutes off the clock. Cam Hayes tied the contest at 5-5 with a three-point basket. NC State’s run would continue as they pull ahead 11-5 with a basket from Cole Hellems before leading 21-7 at the 11:02 mark of the first half.
Things continued to work in favor of the Wolfpack as the offensive onslaught grew as NC State expanded its lead to 31-8 after a Braxton Beverly three with 7:19 left in the first half. Shakeel Moore added three of his career-high 19 points with a three giving NC State a 40-11 lead with 4:42 left before intermission. The Eagles trimmed their 29 point deficit to 20 just before the half with three free throws cutting the Wolfpack lead to 44-24 at the half.
The Wolfpack lead grew back to 29 during the second half at 53-24 with 16:37 left in the contest. The biggest lead of the day would be 32 with 7:21 left leading 74-42. The big lead allowed Kevin Keatts to go deeper into the bench giving viable playing time for his young bench as NC State maintained leads of 20 plus before closing out for the 16 point victory which wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Moore’s career day led the Wolfpack in scoring followed by 14 each from Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk. Hellems closed out double-figure Wolfpack scorers with 11 points.
The Wolfpack return to the court Tuesday, January 9 as they host the Syracuse Orange. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 inside PNC Arena.