NC State men’s basketball heats up late, downs UNC in electric fashion

to a six-point lead with 10:22 left in the game. The six-point advantage UNC held felt like the beginnings of a run to crack the game open, but Burns and Joiner refused to

For the first time in a long time, NC State men’s basketball seems to be the team to beat in North Carolina. PNC Arena was at its loudest Sunday afternoon for a closelycontested dual with the Tar Heels, a game that saw the Wolfpack pull away from its rival in the closing minutes of the second half to come away with a 7769 win.

The two teams met earlier this year on Jan. 21 with UNC-Chapel Hill (16-11, 8-8 ACC) getting the better of NC State (21-7, 11-6 ACC) in an 8069 victory, a game in which the Pack hovered around a 10-point deficit for most of the afternoon. Today had a different energy, with both teams trading buckets in a contest fueled by emotion from the fans and players.

The Pack took care of the ball on offense and swarmed on defense, forcing 13 UNC turnovers and racking up seven steals. This statistical advantage and the stellar play of graduate guard Jarkel Joiner are what gave the red-and-white the edge it needed to come away with the much-needed win after losing its previous bout with Syracuse.

“Our fans were tremendous,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “The atmosphere was great. This was the first time our current group of guys got to see what Wolfpack nation looks like.”

UNC ran its offense through RJ Davis to start the game, while NC State let sophomore guard Terquavion Smith do his thing. Smith has the ability to get to any spot on the floor at will, a skill that demands defensive attention and affords his teammates extra opportunities. Smith tallied eight first-half points to go with Joiner’s nine to combine for 17 of NC State’s 32 points at the break.

In addition to the do-it-all guards, senior guard Casey Morsell and graduate forward Jack Clark contributed to the Pack’s success in the first half. Morsell scored eight first-half points, shooting 50% from 3, and Clark pulled down six of his eight total rebounds. Despite Clark’s effort, rebounding was a sore spot for NC State that allowed the Tar Heels to remain competitive.

The Pack came out of the break motivated to limit the Tar Heels’ second-chance opportunities and increase its own, continuing a first-half pattern that saw NC State take 15 more shots than North Carolina.

“Rebounding was something that really hurt us in the first half,” said graduate forward DJ Burns. “Once we decided we were gonna muscle up and take that away, that’s when we really opened up the lead.”

UNC’s Armando Bacot ended the day with a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double, an effort that kept the game close and helped push the Tar Heels

Keatts went to Burns in the post, time after time. Whether it was Pete Nance or Bacot guarding him, it didn’t seem to matter as Burns put up 14 second-half points.

Joiner had been a consistent scoring option up to this point, but hadn’t been very efficient. He went 3-10 from the field in the first 20 minutes, a pattern that shifted during a 7-0 run with nine minutes left in the game that gave the Wolfpack a one-point lead. This run was capped off by a 3-pointer from Clark in transition that caused the crowd to erupt and gave the team the boost it needed to make a late game run.

Joiner went into takeover mode from that point on, scoring 14 of his 29 points in the final seven minutes of play to edge the Pack past its rival.

“That’s Jarkell Joiner for you right there,” Smith said. “I don’t think he’s been on a run this year that’s been more electric.”

NC State dictated the final three minutes of the game due to its growing lead, loud fan base and composed nature. Very few errors were made by the redand-white, as the team only turned the ball over three times during the course of the game. The Pack minimized turnovers by effectively passing out of double teams and making smart passes to beat the Tar Heels’ full-court press during the final minutes.

“There was 3:22 left on the clock, we came out of a timeout and got a stop immediately,” Burns said. “We went down the court and scored and that’s when I knew [the game was over].”

NC State is closing out on one of its most successful seasons in recent memory with only three games left to play before postseason play begins. Its seeding should be favorable after today’s win, but a strong finish is necessary to lock that up.