If what we saw was any indication of what’s to come in a few months, we’re in for a treat as the NC State Wolfpack erased a 16 point deficit to defeat the third-ranked Louisville Cardinals 68-59 Thursday night inside Reynolds Coliseum.
The game started out with the fast pace you would expect from two top-five teams with NC State holding a 9-6 lead at the 4:53 media timeout and both teams shooting a combined 6-12 from the field. After the break, the Cards went on a quick 8-2 run to go ahead 14-11 with 2:45 left in the opening period. The Cards closed out the quarter hitting four of their last six shots to take an 18-15 lead at the end of the quarter.
Louisville kept the momentum from the first quarter as their lead grew to 24-17 with just under eight minutes left in the quarter. The Cards’ lead grew to 28-17 before forcing an NC State timeout with 5:58 left in the half. NC State would go on to miss eleven straight shots before Jada Boyd ended the drought with a layup with just over a minute left in the half, but not before the Cards pushed their lead up to 34-21 at halftime.
Both teams opened the third quarter trading baskets which allowed the Louisville lead to stay in double figures with the Cards leading the Wolfpack 45-31 at the 4:58 media timeout. NC State would cut the Cards lead to 12 on multiple occasions, but Louisville has responses for every punch as they carried a 51-37 lead into the final period.
The Wolfpack put together a quick 4-0 spurt in less than 30 seconds to cut the Cards’ lead to 10 at 51-41 before Olivia Cochran answered for Louisville with 8:02 remaining. The Wolfpack answered with an 8-0 run to slice the Cards lead to just 53-49 with 6:30 left in the game. The run would continue as the Louisville lead was cut to 53-52 – forcing a Cards timeout with 6:09 left in regulation. Diamond Johnson answered from three out of the timeout giving NC State the lead at 55-53. The NC State lead grew to as big as 63-55 after a steal and layup – forcing a Louisville timeout with 2:33 left in the game.
The Wolfpack comeback magic was complete with Johnson adding the dagger layup with just under one minute left, making the final score 68-59 in what was a sure preview of a possible ACC Tournament matchup.
The Wolfpack finished the contest shooting 41% from the floor, including five three-point baskets during the final period that provided the spark for the comeback win. Johnson led the Wolfpack with 16 points off the bench followed by 15 from Cunane. Cochran led all scorers with 19 points.