NC State basketball surges past North Carolina, 77-69
The game was tied 60-60 with less than six minutes to go, and that is when NC State basketball senior guard Jarkel Joiner delivered a stretch that sent the Wolfpack surging and North Carolina reeling. The final result was a 77-69 victory for the Pack.
After NC State fifth-year senior forward DJ Burns Jr. made a layup to break the tie, Joiner added some cushion with an acrobatic finish at the rim against the trees in UNC’s defense. On the other end of the floor, Heels junior guard Caleb Love tried to quickly respond, but NC State sophomore forward Ernest Ross blocked his shot off the backboard.
When Joiner made a pull-up three-pointer in transition with 4:45 to go, NC State was on a 7-0 run that sent PNC Arena exploding.
UNC called a timeout, but the pressure at that moment had gotten to the preseason No. 1 team desperately trying to avoid not making the NCAA Tournament. The Heels would never get closer than 6 points the rest of the contest
Joiner finished with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field.
“That was Jarkel Joiner for you right there,” NC State sophomore guard Terquavion Smith said after the win.
Joiner, a transfer from Ole Miss, admitted after the game that he was having the most fun he’s ever had in college basketball. Smith acknowledged that PNC Arena was as loud as he’s ever heard it after the Joiner three-pointer.
“I was yelling, too,” Smith confessed.
The end result was NC State basketball improved to 21-7 overall and 11-6 in the ACC, while North Carolina fell to 16-11 and 8-8.
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The game was a back-and-forth affair as both squads struggled to consistently shoot. NC State made just 30.0% of field goal attempts in the first half but still led, 32-31.
The Pack had a big advantage in the turnover margin, finishing the game with just three while UNC had 13, leading to a 16-3 margin on points off turnovers.
The Heels meanwhile countered by dominating on the glass, outrebounding NC State, 48-34.
Back-to-back three-pointers from North Carolina by senior forward Pete Nance and then junior guard R.J. Davis gave UNC its largest lead of the contest at 54-48. Joiner then made back-to-back buckets, and fifth-year senior forward Jack Clark hit a three-pointer to complete a 7-0 run that put NC State back in front at 55-54.
Love was fouled on a three-pointer by freshman guard LJ Thomas on the next possession with 7:35 to go. The teams traded baskets before Joiner completed a 3-point play after a blow-by drive against Davis.
Love made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the score at 60-60 with 6:02 left, and the game was all NC State after that. The Wolfpack outscored North Carolina 15-3 over the next 4.5 minutes to seize control of the game.
