NC State Holds Strong, Wins ACC Opener Over The Tar Heels
RALEIGH, N.C – The 239th matchup between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and the NC State Wolfpack tipped off Tuesday, December 22nd at the PNC Arena as the NC State Wolfpack took down the Tar Heels 79-76.
The first half started with some fast-paced action which gave NC State the ability to force three Tar Heel turnovers early on which is what the Wolfpack do, and give them an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout. The hot start continued for the Wolfpack as they went on a 15-2 run halfway through the first half, which included sharp shooting from freshman Shakeel Moore with 13 points through the first eleven minutes, who was 5 for his first 6 shots and a perfect 3-3 from downtown.
The Tar Heels went through their typical slow start that they have been known to show this season as the Wolfpack jumped out to a 16 point, 49-33 lead with 2:37 left in the first half but the Tar Heels as they’ve done all season found their groove in the last two minutes and closed on a 9-0 run to close the half and trailed 49-42 at the half.
The Tar Heels shot 17 of 33 (51.5%) in the first half and were led by Armando Bacot with 10 points and R.J Davis with nine points at the half. The Wolfpack who shot 19 of 36, (52.5%) and 6 of 9, (66.7%) from three-point range in the first half, were led at the half by Shakeel Moore with 13 points on 5 of 6 from the field and a perfect 3 of 3 from downtown and Devon Daniels, who picked up 2 early fouls in the first half with nine points going a perfect 4 of 4 from the field.
The Wolfpack forced eight Tar Heel Turnovers and the Tar Heels forced six Wolfpack turnovers through the first half.
The second half started with a hot start from the Tar Heels as they cut the 7-point lead at half down to 2 at the 15:08 mark. For the next few minutes, the game went back and forth as each team started using their big men inside to get some points in the paint as the score was 59-57 Wolfpack at the under-12 media timeout.
The Wolfpack stretched out the lead to seven with a three-pointer from Devon Daniels at the 7:03 mark left in the second half and that continued after the media break as the lead stretched out to 13 with 5:13 left in the game before UNC went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 4 forcing the Wolfpack to call a timeout with 2:47 left in the game.
The Tar Heels fought hard to the finish but fell just short as the turnovers were too much as the Wolfpack forced 18 Tar Heel turnovers. “We got back to the basics.” Senior Devon Daniels said following the win. Forcing turnovers is what this year’s NC State team is all about as they rank 4th in the country in turnovers forced.
“I’m excited for our guys. We’re 1-0 in the conference going into Christmas break. We got a nice win against a very talented North Carolina team.” Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts said postgame.
The Wolfpack were led by Devon Daniels with 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and Shakeel Moore with 17 points. The Tar Heels were led by Armando Bacot with 16 points and six rebounds.
The Tar Heels will look to bounce back as they head to Georgia Tech on December 30th to face the Yellow Jackets in another ACC Matchup. The Wolfpack will remain at home for their next contest as they will play host to the Boston College Eagles on December 30th and hope to extend their winning streak to three games.