This one was a game head coach Will Wade said the Wolfpack had to have.
Yesterday, the NC State men’s basketball team faced off against Stanford in a nail-biter – losing at home on senior night by just one point. The final score was 85-84, Stanford with the win.Ā
In the first part of the game, both teams were battling for the lead. Senior forwardĀ VenĀ Allen Lubin got the Wolfpack offense going – scoring 12 points in the first half and ending the game with 11 rebounds. The Wolfpack were inconsistent offensively, missing nine free throws. However, Stanford was also struggling to make their offensive presence known – allowing the Wolfpack to go on a 13-4 run with six minutes remaining in the first half. This put the Wolfpack on the heels of Stanford by halftime (37-34).
In the second half the Wolfpack got more active offensively. The momentum shifted in NC Stateās favor early in the period as freshman guard Matt Able ended the second half with 11 points. Senior guard Tre Holloman finished with 15 points, and senior guard Quadir Copeland added ten points. Yet, this wasnāt enough to stop Stanford from closing out the game. In the last two minutes of the contest Copeland fouled out – leaving a gap in the offense. Battling down to the last second sophomore guard Paul McNiel shot a buzzer beater three – resulting in the one-point defeat.Ā
In his post game press conferenceĀ VenĀ Allen-Lubin said āit’s extremely frustrating, we wanted to close out the second half of the season really strongly.ā
The Wolfpack has continuously failed to close out close games in the second half – dropping their final four matchups of the season.
This isn’t way NC State wanted to enter their postseason, but Will Wade will have to find a way to refocus his squad. Prior to their four-game skid, many had the Wolpack comfortably in the NCAA Tournament. Now, not so much. A quick loss in next week’s ACC Tournament could mean a trip to Dayton for a play-in game or worse…on the outside looking in.
The Wolfpack’s post season hopes begin Wednesday at noon where they’ll face Stanford or Pitt in the second round of the ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
