NC State coasts past Virginia behind Dennis Parker Jr.’s efficient shooting

Down four with 1.4 seconds on the shot clock in the first half against Virginia, NC State coach Kevin Keatts had to draw up a quick shot in a timeout. What he drew up might not be clear after the fact, but what’s important was it worked. 

Graduate guard Casey Morsell triggered the ball into freshman guard Dennis Parker Jr.’s hands, and he rose up from the Wolfpack logo at midcourt and drained a 40-footer. It didn’t hit the backboard or the rim — it fell straight in. 

From then on, NC State’s game turned into the Parker show. The Richmond native’s long shot flipped the momentum and helped the Pack to a 76-60 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena. 

But back to the shot. Where’d that come from?

“One of my best play calls of the year is to get Dennis Parker the ball at half court with 1.4 seconds on the clock,” Keatts said with a hint of sarcasm postgame. “I just knew he was going to drain that.”

If it wasn’t meant for Parker, well, the play worked. Parker was hot from then on from beyond the arc with a trio of made 3-pointers to help him to a team-best 15 points in just his 14th collegiate contest. 

The logo triple pulled NC State within one of Virginia late in the first half. After that, the Pack trailed one more time and it was able to pull away from the Cavaliers behind a 13-2 run, which Parker’s 3-pointer was a part of. The red and white controlled the contest from that point on, which included building a 21-point lead in the second half.

Afterwards, Virginia coach Tony Bennett thought that was a key hinge point in the contest. 

“That was certainly a momentum swing because I thought our guys had the right mindset with how we were playing,” Bennett said. “I’m not going to say that if he didn’t make that it would be a different story, but you felt the swing. You could feel it a little bit because it happened quick.”

Parker, a Richmond, Va., native, had his second-most efficient shooting performance when he attempted at least three five shots against his home state squad — 5-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-5 from distance.

Though he grew up less than two hours from Virginia’s grounds in Charlottesville, he didn’t get recruited much by the Cavaliers. That, coupled with the fact his sister went to Virginia, provided a little extra juice for the freshman.

“It meant a lot,” Parker said of his outing against the Cavaliers. “It’s a lot. I like to win. I’ll take the win.”

Parker had his second-highest scoring output of the season with 15, just behind the 18 he scored against Vanderbilt at the Vegas Showdown in late-November. He has also been in the starting lineup for the past six contests, and Parker thinks he’s continuing to grow with each game under his belt. 

“Every game, I feel like I’m progressing bit by bit,” Parker said. “Small steps at a time. It’s just based on my preparation of going into it. I kept on working on my shot. I never lose confidence in myself and continue to play defense.”

While Parker was the star of the show, junior guard Jayden Taylor had 15 points, graduate guard DJ Horne had 14 and five others logged at least 5 points. The balanced attack was a product of the Wolfpack’s ability to be efficient from the field, something it was not three days before. 

NC State shot 22.4% in the second half of its nail-biting win at Notre Dame on Thursday night, but it was able to log a 49.1% clip against Virginia, including 50% in the opening 20 minutes. 

That was pivotal in the success, and now NC State remains perfect in league play. The Wolfpack is 3-0 in league play for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. 

For Horne, who grew up watching ACC basketball in the Triangle, the record-setting start to conference play is the beginning of league play that the Arizona State transfer was looking for — even if those on the outside didn’t see it coming. 

“This was a big win for us, 3-0 in the ACC,” Horne said. “Not many people thought we could do that. I think our mindset is to keep stacking the wins.”

NC State hosts North Carolina at PNC Arena at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. The game will be televised on ESPN.