NC State Holds Off Oakland to Make Sweet 16

PITTSBURGH – The North Carolina State Wolfpack defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 79-73 on Saturday at the PPG Paints Arena to advance to the Sweet 16. 

The pace was fast and straightforward for the Pack to start. Oakland struggled to keep up. DJ Horne was off to a good start and scored the first seven points for the Pack. Both teams battled and went back and forth answering each other with three-pointers midway through the first half. 

Closing in on the first half, NC State struggled with scoring and went into a four-minute scoring drought while giving up multiple three-pointers. Rocket Watts made a jumper to conclude the half for the Golden Grizzlies. 

The pace remained fast to start the second half. After a while, NC State lost some of its rhythm, allowing the Golden Grizzlies to go on an 8-1 run to tie the game, approaching the midway point of the second half. Once the game approached the midway point, the Wolfpack got its rhythm back with back-to-back three-pointers to regain the lead.  

Both teams began to go back and forth with three-pointers once again, approaching the end of the game. As the clock wound down, the game became intense as Oakland took the lead for the first time of the night. 

The score remained close within the final minutes of regulation. Neither team scored after tying the game resulting in overtime. 

The Wolfpack closed overtime with an 11-1 run to secure the 79-73 victory. 

NC State thrived by switching up the defensive coverage to tame the Golden Grizzlies but struggled to tame the Oakland duo Jack Gohlke and Trey Townsend.  

Townsend posted 30 points and 13 rebounds. Gohlke followed with 22 points and eight rebounds. 

NC State distributed and rebounded the ball well for Saturday’s game. Seven players posted points for the Wolfpack. They also recorded 46 rebounds. 

The Pack thrived in the fast-paced environment and used their size to their advantage being the noticeably taller team.