OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME: Wake Forest
Here's a look back at the highs and lows from NC State's 72-63 win over Wake Forest.
NC State used an 11-0 run to close the game en route to an important, 72-63, win at home against Wake Forest in ACC action Thursday.
The victory improves the Wolfpack to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference. The Demon Deacons were held scoreless over the final 4:30 of the contest and dropped to 8-10 for the season, 2-4 in the league.
The Wolfpack led by nine in the first half but Wake Forest used a 15-0 run to take the lead. The Deacs would not trail for the next 12 minutes of game action.
The victory was vital for NC State as the Wolfpack is now one-third of the way through the conference slate.
Had the Wolfpack lost to Wake Forest both schools would have been 2-4 in the ACC and NC State, which will next host a solid Miami team that has been ranked all season, has not won the corresponding fixture with the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem since 2012. It could have relegated the Pack to a near-certain finish in the bottom half of the standings.
With the victory, NC State will hope that it can conjure the same magic that propelled it to two straight wins over ranked opponents at home prior to falling at then-No. 3 Virginia over the past weekend.
HIGHLIGHTS
NC State would not have won if Omer Yurtseven performed below his recent standard. Perhaps most importantly, the sophomore was not his typical foul-prone self against Wake Forest.
Yurtseven finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes. He played 16 minutes in the second half. He entered the game with 6:17 remaining with the score tied at 59 after Bryant Crawford hit two free throws. NC State outscored Wake Forest 13-4 the rest of the way.
* The return of Markell Johnson to PNC Arena was the return of a player that NC State head coach Kevin Keatts can lean on.
Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from three-point range). He also finished with six rebounds, four assists and two steals while committing only one turnover in 27 minutes of action. He was on the floor for the final 7:41 when NC State made its move past the Demon Deacons and clinched the win.
* While the percentage is not great, NC State shot 20 free throws in the game (making 13 for a 65 percent average). This is important to note because the Wolfpack settled almost exclusively on three-point attempts in the first half and only took one shot from the charity stripe before intermission.
* In the second half NC State was 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the free throw line while Wake Forest was only 3-of-9 (33.3%).
* Although only a freshman, Braxton Beverly showed once again that he is becoming indispensable to NC State. He nearly had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine assists.
The great thing about Beverly is most of what he does is completely within the context of the game. There have been ‘freshman moments’ here and there but he is looking more and more like a veteran on the court. He scored his 10 points on only six shot attempts.
LOWLIGHTS
Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman combined for a woeful four points on 2-of-7 shooting with six rebounds (all by Freeman) and two blocks in 31 minutes of gametime.
Yurtseven can spoil a coach but if he is the only frontcourt player providing production then at some point there will be adjustments. This occurred when Wake Forest, tired of the Turkish center exploiting its defense on pick-and-pops that it could not stop, switched to a zone. It limited the effectiveness of NC State’s center outside.
Without Abu and Freeman providing anything of consequence offensively, the high-low entry pass from Yurtseven -- which can be successful against a zone -- is rendered almost meaningless.
* It is hard not to have empathy for Allerik Freeman.
He is in a wretched shooting slump and his only playing six minutes in the second half, and not at all over the final 7-plus minutes, is a big factor in why NC State was able to rally to victory.
Johnson was solid in his place and Kevin Keatts potentially has a decision to make in regards to his starting lineup going forward.
Freeman scored five points on 2-of-7 shooting from the floor. He had an awful three-point attempt in which he did not let the play develop and instead deviated from the set.
This prompted Keatts to immediately pull him from the game with 7:41 remaining. He did not return.
PACK +/-
+/- is the points scored by a team minus the points allowed by a team while a certain player is on the floor.
Markell Johnson: +15
Torin Dorn Jr.: +11
Lennard Freeman: +8
Omer Yurtseven: +8
Lavar Batts Jr. : +7
Braxton Beverly: +3
Allerik Freeman: +1
Spencer Newman: 0
Sam Hunt: -2
Abdul-Malik Abu: -6
STAT OF THE GAME
Omer Yurtseven: 9-of-16 field goals (56.3%), 2-of-6 three-point field goals (33.3%) and 2-of-2 free throws (100%)
Rest of team: 17-of-46 field goals (37%), 5-of-20 three-point range (25%) and 11-of-18 free throws (61.1%)
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"[Yurtseven] is getting better. It all comes with your teammates believing in you and looking for him. The last couple games, the way people have played ball screens, we have been able to give him some open shots and he has really made them pay for it. He is starting to believe in himself and scoring around the basket. He is doing good scoring but is also our leading shot blocker." -- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts