The NC State Wolfpack had one of their best offensive games of the season as they defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 85-73 Saturday afternoon at Lenovo Center.
Freshman guard Paul McNeil led the way for the Wolfpack (11-16; 4-12 ACC) offensively, with 24 points, four offensive rebounds and three assists, in his first collegiate start, but senior guards Dontrez Styles (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Michael O’Connell (13 assists) also played big roles too.
“When we left Carolina, we didn’t like anything about the way we played the first half, but if there was a silver lining, it was that we played really, really good in the second half and that Paul McNeil played well,” said NC State coach Kevin Keatts. “Hence, I wanted to shake up the lineup. I looked at a couple of different situations and decided to insert Paul into the lineup.”
McNeil has gotten minutes sparingly here and there throughout the season, but a strong showing against UNC (14 points in 14 minutes) led to Keatts giving the freshman the start over senior top scorer Marcus Hill.
“He’s grown,” Keatts said about the freshman. “If you had seen him the first month or two – a talented high school scorer – but couldn’t guard anybody, didn’t have any interest in guarding anybody and really wasn’t making his shots, wasn’t in shape. But the maturity he’s shown, getting better, growing through practice. I’m happy for him and I trusted him with the way he was playing.”
Overall though, it was just a really strong showing offensively for the entire Pack squad.
“What’s impressive is that we had 23 assists on 29-made field goals,” Keatts said. “We really shared the basketball. When this team shares the basketball and everybody plays well, we’re a good basketball team, but we just don’t have the one guy who can score every game. We need everybody to play together.”
Wake Forest (19-8; 11-5 ACC) made a late push, using a 7-0 run to take a lead halfway through the second half, but the Pack answered with a 13-0 run to really put the game out of reach.
“I just didn’t feel a sense of urgency and I don’t know why,” said Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes. “I obviously did a poor job getting them ready to play because I didn’t feel that sense of urgency early in the game. I don’t want to say desperation, but what it takes to win on the road, which we’ve done. We just didn’t have it, so that’s on me.”
While the offense did enough to keep the Demon Deacons alive, the team was just not strong enough defensively, with NC State’s 85 points being the most they’ve given up all season,
“I didn’t anticipate them making 13 threes,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “Credit to them, but I just didn’t feel like we ever got dialed in defensively. It just felt like we were behind the play a lot and then we were playing catchup on our fouling or giving up offensive rebounds or wide-open threes.”
Another big difference maker in the early going was rebounding as the Pack outrebounded the Deacons 21-12 (8-1 off the offensive glass) in the first half.
“Early on, offensive rebounding was a problem and it was our guards,” Forbes said. “I felt like their guards were just quicker to the ball, they were making plays off the glass and giving them extra possessions.”
While the win doesn’t necessarily move the needle for NC State, it does help keep the Pack within striking distance of the final ACC Tournament spots.
With the league’s expansion, only 15 of the 18 ACC teams will qualify for the tournament this year so if the Wolfpack wants a shot at another miracle run, they’re going to need to string together some wins here in the closing weeks.
That chase will continue Wednesday, Feb. 26 as NC State travels up north to take on Syracuse.
For Wake Forest, they’ll look to continue their hunt for the double-bye as they host UVA on Wednesday as well.
