The Wolfpack Avoids the Trap! Beats Va Tech 82-73

Game Summary:

Well, you suspected this game was going to be different when the first basket was a Paul McNeil LAYUP. The tired old saying goes, “This is a game of runs.” This was definitely one of those games. At the under 12 timeout, NC State was ahead 20-7. At the 4:35 mark, Va Tech had closed to 24-21 and Coach Wade called his ‘use it or lose it’ to put his finger in the dyke. About 30 seconds later, Paul McNeil hit his first 3PT shot of the day and the Wolfpack closed the half on a 12 to 3 run.

In the second half, the Pack maintained the 12-point lead until the first official timeout, and then the Hokies’ strategy to drive the ball inside started paying off and by the 11:20 mark they had again cut the lead to 3 points. Then Tre Holloman hit a 3PT, assisted on a Matt Able layup, and Paul McNeil hit a 3PT and it was back to a 10 point lead where it stayed until about the 2:00 minute mark when the Hokies made one last push and cut it to 8 points with 28 seconds left but ran out of gas at that point. Final, 82-73.

Overall Takeaways:

• The Pack had another strong offensive game, shooting 52% / 43% / 71%
• Virginia Tech is one of the best ACC teams at defending the 3PT line and held the Wolfpack to 21 attempts but still hit 9.
• 14 assists on 27 made baskets is outstanding
• NC State kept the rebounding even most of the game, but late in the game Va Tech dominated the offensive boards and won 35-30

Coach Wade Post Game Comments

Individual Highlights

• Darrion Williams had an off shooting game, going 1-6 from 3PT and 1-9 overall but still had 5 rebounds, 1 assists, a steal and a blocked shot
• Quadir Copeland had another amazing game with 21 pts, 3 reb, 10 assists, and 5 steals to go with his 4 turnovers (which we don’t mind at all!)
• Paul McNeil and Quadir Copeland each had 21 points to lead the scoring
• Ven Lubin led rebounding with 7
• Paul McNeil had 2 blocked shots

Player Stats and Box Score

Box Score