Terquavion Smith Scores 30 Points To Lead Pack Over Virginia Tech In ACC Tourney

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) –  Terquavion Smith scored 30 points on 11-for-13 shooting and Jarkel Joiner had a double-double as sixth-seed NC State beat No. 11-seed Virginia Tech 97-77 on Wednesday night in the second round of the New York Life ACC Tournament.

The Wolfpack will play third-seed Clemson on Thursday.

Smith finished four points shy of tying his career high and finished one field goal short of tying his career high of most field goals made in a game. Joiner scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jack Clark and Ebenezer Dowuona each scored 11 for the Wolfpack (23-9).

Reserve Rodney Rice scored 17 with five 3-pointers, Justyn Mutts scored 15 points, and Grant Basile 11 for the Hokies (19-14).

NC State never trailed and was never threatened as it built a 16-7 lead in the first five minutes.

The Wolfpack started out shooting 12 for 17 – including 5 for 7 from 3 – while the Hokies went the other direction and made just 4 of 16 including 1 for 5 from 3-point range. Casey Morsell’s 3 with 8:16 before halftime gave North Carolina State a 31-16 lead.

NC State led 53-26 at intermission shooting 63.6%, including 53.8% from distance, with the only shooting blemish being a 4-for-8 effort at the foul line.

Noting the Second Round – Game 4

– Sixth-seeded NC State (23-9) moved on to Thursday’s 9:30 p.m. quarterfinal game against third-seeded Clemson (22-9). The Tigers swept the regular-season series, downing the Wolfpack 78-64 at home on Dec. 30 and 96-71 in Raleigh on Feb. 25. The teams met in the opening round of last year’s tournament in Brooklyn, with the 10th-seeded Clemson winning over No. 15 seed NC State, 70-64.

– NC State’s 61.9 percent shooting from the floor (39-for-63) was its highest ever in an ACC Tournament game, eclipsing the 61.0 percent versus Virginia in the 2000 quarterfinals.

– NC State’s total of 53 points in Wednesday’s first half is tied for the fifth-highest halftime score by any team in New York Life ACC Tournament history. The team record is 54 in the first half of the 1966 quarterfinals against Virginia, a game the Pack led 54-32 at the break and won 86-77. NC  State also put up 53 in the second round in 2016, taking a 53-50 lead over Duke in an eventual 92-89 defeat.

– The Wolfpack’s 27-point halftime lead tied for the largest in ACC Tournament play since Duke led Virginia 59-31 (28 points) in the opening round at Charlotte in 1999. Duke led NC State by 27 (49-22) in the 2015 quarterfinals in Greensboro.

– The Wolfpack improved to 74-58 all-time in ACC Tournament play and to 28-25 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Wolfpack is 3-0 in the tournament versus Virginia Tech and leads the all-time series 43-19.

– Virginia Tech (19-14) is now 15-18 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including a 4-9 mark in Greensboro.

– Wolfpack guard Terquavion Smith’s 30 points on Wednesday night led all scorers and marked his third-highest effort of the season. Smith scored 33 points versus Coppin State on Dec. 6 and tallied 32 against Florida State on Feb. 1.

– Terquavion Smith went 11-for-13 from the floor (5-for-7 from 3-point range). The 11 field goals were one shy of his career-high and matched his highest total versus an ACC opponent (versus Florida State on March 5, 2022).

– Smith’s 30 points were the most ever by any Virginia Tech opponent in the ACC Tournament, topping the 28 by North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough in the 2008 semifinals in Charlotte.

– The 10 assists by the Wolfpack’s Jarkel Joiner set an ACC Tournament second-round record. He added his 35th career game with 20 or more points.

– Joiner became only the third Division I player this season to have a game with 20 or more points, 10 or more assists, and no turnovers. It is the fourth such performance nationally this season. Isaiah Stevens of Colorado State has done it twice and Daniss Jenkins of Iona has done it once. It is the first such performance by an ACC player since RJ Barrett of Duke had 23, 10, and 0 vs. NC State on Feb. 6, 2019.

– NC State’s 39 field goals tied the most for any team in an ACC Tournament second-round game.

– The No. 6 seed is now 11-4 versus the No. 11 seed in the ACC Tournament.

Photo courtesy of NC State Athletics