NC State men’s basketball cut down in Cameron, loses 71-67 at Duke

Wade Bowman Managing Editor

DURHAM, N.C. — NC State men’s basketball dropped its final game of the regular season inside a raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium, falling 71-67 to the Duke Blue Devils.

The Wolfpack (22-9, 12-8 ACC) competed early, hanging within striking distance for the majority of the first half, but let things slip away in the second when Duke (22-8, 13-6 ACC) got out to a 12-point lead with 8:39 left in the game. Led by an offensive barrage from guard Jeremy Roach, the Blue Devils made the plays necessary to finish their year undefeated on home court.

“That’s pretty impressive to go undefeated at home in a year,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “You look at that team, they’ve grown so much. I remember when we played them, I don’t know, a month ago, and they played like freshmen. You can tell that those guys have grown up. It was a great game.”

Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner led all scorers with 26 points on 50% shooting from the field, adding eight rebounds and an assist to his stat line by the final whistle. Picking up the pieces left behind from poor performances by sophomore guard Terquavion Smith and senior guard Casey Morsell, Joiner’s offensive contributions were nearly enough to help the Wolfpack steal one late.

In the last two minutes of the contest, Smith hit his first shot from the floor — a 3-pointer to cut the Duke lead down to nine — before Joiner orchestrated an 8-2 scoring run by his lonesome. With the Duke lead within a single possession at three points, NC State had a chance, but a win in such a hostile environment wasn’t in the cards for the Wolfpack.

“[Joiner] has been great,” Keatts said. “I thought we hit a home run with him. … He’s been so huge for us. He’s played as an all-conference guy — first-team, second-team down the stretch.”

To even have an opportunity to win the game was a miracle for NC State with Smith’s shooting slump persisting through the last few outings. Tonight, the sophomore finished with eight points on 2-9 shooting from the floor, also collecting five rebounds and two assists in his 27 minutes of court time. Adding to the offensive inefficiency, Morsell’s one point on 0-8 shooting from the floor made it that much harder for NC State to find its 23rd win.

Following Joiner in the box score, graduate forward DJ Burns and graduate guard Jack Clark scored 13 points apiece. Carrying along the overarching theme of the night,

Burns wasn’t immune to offensive deficiencies either, shooting a more-than-solid 4-5 from the floor at the end of the first half but falling down to a 6-15 line by the final whistle. Shooting 40% is nothing to scoff at, but on a night where so many of NC State’s stars were struggling, his drop-off in the second half made things even more difficult for the Pack.

However, Clark looked promising, returning from an injury suffered against Wake Forest on Feb. 22 to score his aforementioned 13 points on 60% shooting and reeling in seven rebounds. NC State continues to be a better team with Clark on the court, and with a full week to rest before the ACC Tournament, having him anywhere close to 100% will be a welcomed sight.

“Jack was good,” Keatts said. “Just to have him on the floor gives us another scorer. … He’s our best rebounder, so we need to have him on the floor.”

Another bright spot for NC State was sophomore guard Breon Pass, who picked up minutes for freshman guard LJ Thomas because he was out with an illness. Although Pass’ four points and two rebounds in 14 minutes don’t jump off the page, the guard was serviceable enough to keep his team competitive early on, signifying just how deep this rotation can go when necessary.

Despite ending its regular season on backto-back losses, NC State has fought hard to bring the program to new standards fol- lowing last year. Building a resume of 22 wins and 12 conference wins is nothing to dust off, and heading into the conference tournament with a chance to add even more is a great situation for the Wolfpack to be in.

“It’s been a blessing man,” Joiner said. “This new team has gelled together great. The transfers, me, DJ, Jack and [graduate forward] Dusan [Mahorcic] … we got a lot of work put in.”

NC State is the only ACC team without a game left to play this weekend and surely welcomes the extra time for preparation and rest. While the rest of the conference fights for its seeding, all the Wolfpack can do is sit back and watch it all unfold.