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NC State basketball pummels Virginia Tech, 97-77

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•03/08/23•

TheWolfpacker

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NC State guard Terquavion Smith (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Who knows if Wednesday evening was a must win for NC State basketball, but the Wolfpack sure performed with an urgency merited in a such a game. Playing with inspiring energy and effort, NC State steamrolled Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament, 97-77.

Led by red-hot shooting from sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, who made 7 of his 9 first half shots attempts, NC State quickly built up an insurmountable lead that reached 53-26 at halftime over the helpless Hokies.

“I was ready to play since I woke up this morning,” Smith confessed.

Smith continued to torch VT in the second half and finished with 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“I took what they gave me,” Smith said. “Whatever opened up, I kind of took advantage of it.”

His NC State backcourt and fellow second-team All-ACC honoree Jarkel Joiner, a super senior, had a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists and was 3 rebounds away from a second triple-double on the season. Joiner was 8 of 15 from the field, including 2 of 4 on threes.

Collectively, NC State basketball set a program record for an ACC Tournament game by making 61.9 percent of field goal attempts (39 of 63).

NC State was able to roll despite a minimal contribution from honorable mention All-ACC selection D.J. Burns Jr., a fifth-year senior who battled foul trouble and had just 3 points on 1-of-2 shooting over 15-plus minutes.

Junior Ebenezer Dowuona was able to pick up some of the slack. He set a career-high with 11 points, all of the scoring coming in the first half, and added 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

“I thought EB did a great job when D.J. didn’t have the best game, but we’re going to need everybody in this tournament, and that’s why I wanted to play the bench as much as I could just because it’s a long week,” NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts noted. “And in order to move on and advance to the next game, you’ve got to have everybody ready to play, and … I’ve talked to EB about staying ready, and I thought he did a good job.”

With the win, the Pack improved to 23-9 overall and will face ACC nemesis Clemson, who swept NC State during the regular season, including winning by 25 points on the Wolfpack’s Senior Day at PNC Arena in Raleigh. The outcomes of the game against the Tigers, particularly the penultimate game in the regular season, still linger fresh in the Wolfpack’s memories.

“It’s motivation, for sure,” Joiner admitted

Virginia Tech fell to 19-14, and Hokies head coach Mike Young noted he hoped his team could earn an invite to the NIT.

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