Balanced Scoring, Post-Play Lead NC State Over Wake
WINSTON SALEM, NC – The NC State Wolfpack took the short trip over to Winston-Salem, North Carolina Saturday afternoon and behind a balanced scoring attack and domination in the paint, the Wolfpack took down the Wake Forest Deamon Deacons 80-62.
Despite having a 500 record this season, there is one thing that NC State fans can be happy about; the defense. Coming into this game, the Wolfpack rank first in the conference in turnovers forced at almost 16 per game and third in the conference in steals, averaging almost nine per game.
When the Pack is creating steals and converting those steals into points, they are tough to beat. NC State is 8-0 this season when they score 19 or more points off turnovers and just 1-9 when they score 18 or less.
Both teams came out playing fast-paced which led to five turnovers in the first four minutes. At the first TV timeout, Wake Forest led 7-6.
A balanced scoring attack from each team had the score tied at 14 at the 12-minute mark in the first half. The physical and aggressive defense was great in some ways and poor in others, as each team was able to force five turnovers, but also had two players with two fouls each early on.
Over the next four minutes, NC State outscored Wake 15-4 to jump out to an 11-point, 29-18 lead at the 7:46 mark in the first half. Jericole Hellems and Cam Hayes combined to score 11 of the 15 over the run. After the Wolfpack extended the lead to 14, Wake Forest responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit back down to eight with 5:11 left in the first half.
The Pack dominated the rest of the half, as they took a 51-35 lead going into the half. As a team, NC State shot 52% from the field and 60% from behind the three-point line. Braxton Beverly, Dereon Seabron, and Jericole Hellems had ten points each, to lead the Wolfpack balanced scoring early on. Wake Forest had a strong first half from Ian DuBose, as he led all scorers with 11 points. The Pack defense was able to force 11 first-half turnovers, as the defense was flustering the Deamon Deacon guards all half.
NC State came out strong to start the second half, as they were able to extend the 16-point halftime lead to 19 just four minutes into the half, as they connected on four of their first six shots. The deficit never got below 15 the next 10 minutes as the Pack dominated inside and never let the Deamon Deacon offense get into any rhythm.
The rest of the second half was all NC State, as they went on multiple runs and cruised to a huge victory on the road. The Wolfpack had a great day shooting as they were 29-58 (50%) from the field and dominated inside as they outscored Wake 34-22 in the paint. The Pack defense was tough all afternoon, as well, as they forced 19 Wake Forest turnovers.
The balanced scoring attack from the Wolfpack was led by Dereon Seabron and Jericole Hellems with 14 points each and DJ Funderburk and Cam Hayes with 11 points each. Wake Forest was led by Ian DuBose with 14 points and Isiah Mucius and Daivien Williamson with 11 points each.
Following the game when asked how he has grown as a player this season, Seabron said, “I’ve just been putting in the work in the gym and doing what I can to get better.”
Hellems had some high praise for Hayes and Seabron following the game, as he stated that “they’re young guys but they’re really growing and getting better to help us out.”
Up next for NC State (10-9,6-8 ACC), they continue their road trip as they head to Charlottesville, Virginia, Wednesday, February 24th for a matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers