OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME: Boston College

Here is a look back at the highs and lows from NC State's 91-87 loss to Boston College in the 2018 ACC Tournament.

The ACC Tournament experience was late getting started and is now over before it really began. 

NC State fell to Boston College 91-87 in Brooklyn, New York to crash out of the conference tournament and drop to 21-11 overall on the season. 

Like the contest between the two schools in Raleigh earlier in the season, the Wolfpack got off to a slow start. While it did not take NC State over seven minutes to hit its first field goal, the Pack dug itself a hole it could not quite get out of. 

A 16-point deficit was completely erased but whenever NC State tied the game the Eagles had an answer. The Wolfpack trailed for almost 36 minutes in the contest but Torin Dorn Jr.’s two free throws with 40 second remaining evened the score at 85 each. 

A jumper from Boston College’s Jerome Robinson, a former Broughton Cap, gave the Eagles the lead. Allerik Freeman turned it over on an inbound play and Boston College hit four straight free throws over the game’s final 11 seconds to put it away. 

NC State now will await its postseason fate, with the NCAA Tournament announcements coming Sunday evening. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Omer Yurtseven was strong in the second half, which was needed after NC State’s frontcourt was feeble prior to intermission. The young Turk exploded for 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds after halftime. 

* NC State remarkably shot 22-of-30 (73.3 percent) from the floor and 7-of-10 (70 percent) from three-point range in the second half. The Wolfpack’s offensive efficiency was a sight to behold. It went lock-step with Yurtseven becoming effective. State scored 56 points in the second half and still lost. 

* Al Freeman also played well, his six turnovers notwithstanding. He drilled four three-pointers in the second half (on five tries) and finished with 21 points. His miscue on the inbound play late was brutal but the Wolfpack is not in the mix during the game’s waning seconds without him. 

* Sam Hunt finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, with all coming behind the three-point line. He had a pivotal four-point play in the second half to help spur NC State’s rally. 

LOWLIGHTS

First Half Stats
NC State: 12-of-34 field goals (35.3 percent)
Rebounding: Boston College 26, NC State 17
Points in the Paint: Boston College 26, NC State 12
Fast Break Points: Boston College 11, NC State 2
Torin Dorn Jr.; Two points, one rebound

* The interior play was brutal for NC State in the first half. Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman combined for four points and four rebounds, with Freeman getting all of the latter, prior to halftime. Abu played less than a minute in the second half. 

Conversely, Boston College used its inside play to create separation early. Nic Popovic, Johncarlos Reyes and Steffon Mitchell hurt the Wolfpack in the first half and did enough damage after intermission to push Boston College into the quarterfinals. 

* The duo of Robinson and Ky Bowman did their normal thing. Together they scored 50 points, dished out nine assists and hauled in seven rebounds against NC State. 

PACK +/-

+/- is the points scored by a team minus the points allowed by a team while a certain player is on the floor.

STAT OF THE GAME

Steffon Mitchell, Nic Popovic and Johncarlos Reyes combined: 29 points, 13-of-19 field goals and 25 rebounds

QUOTE OF THE GAME

"I told the guys that the next opportunity that we have to play a game, it's going to be the last time that the seniors get a chance to play together. We cannot have the start that we had -- we didn't have a great first half. I challenged these guys at halftime, and obviously they responded. I thought they did a tremendous job.

"For whatever reason, we didn't play extremely well to start the game. But what we'll take from this is that when it's one-and-done, you've got to play the entire game. You've got to finish games. And obviously we didn't do a great job starting, and I thought we finished the game." -- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts