NC State basketball rolls past Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 76-61 (box score)
NC State basketball made just 1 of its last 15 shots from the field, including its last 10 in a row, and scored just 10 points over the last 12-plus minutes, and yet it still rolled to a 76-61 win at Georgia Tech Tuesday evening.
Such was the dominance for NC State from the start.
The Wolfpack jumped out to a 14-2 lead on the Yellow Jackets, and the lead would stay in double digits for the remainder of the game. The Pack more than doubled Georgia Tech at halftime, 51-25, and stretched the advantage to 30 points early in the second half before cooling off.
With the win, a six-game losing streak that was the longest for NC State basketball during head coach Kevin Keatts’ five-year tenure, was snapped. The win also represented the first win in five tries for Keatts against Georgia Tech. The Jackets had been a nemesis for Keatts with a series of close wins over the Pack.
NC State was led by freshman guard Terquavion Smith, who broke out of a two-game slump with 26 points, making 9 of 13 shots from the field, including 6 of 8 three-pointers.
Sophomore guard Cam Hayes added 14 points off the bench, while redshirt sophomore wing Dereon Seabron had double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Jericole Hellems finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, but he also shot just 3 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 11 on threes.
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During the first half, largely behind Smith, NC State made 8 of 14 threes against the ACC’s second best defense in allowing three-point percentage.
Defensively, NC State held Georgia Tech to just 37.5-percent shooting from the field, and the Jackets made only 5 of 22 threes.
The win improved the Wolfpack to 11-16 on the season and 4-12 in the ACC, while Georgia Tech fell to 10-15 and 3-11 in the conference.
NC State has the weekend off, and it will return to PNC Arena in Raleigh Wednesday evening against Boston College. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip and will be televised by RSN affiliates.
The final box score from the win over Georgia Tech is pictured above.
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