NC State stuck together, ‘showed growth’ in comeback victory over Notre Dame

A lot can happen in a four-day span. For NC State, it meant finding a way to put together a quality second half, something it lacked through a pair of ACC losses at Virginia and Wake Forest last week. 

The Pack, which allowed both the Cavaliers and Demon Deacons to go on 17-point runs in the two defeats, wanted to find a way to change that. Ever since NC State made the 101-mile drive down I-40 East from Winston-Salem after the 18-point drubbing, the Wolfpack was intentional about correcting that issue at practice. 

It didn’t want to have mental lapses with Notre Dame visiting the Lenovo Center, looking to avoid a dreaded three-game losing streak. The Pack believed it could have beat the Hoos and the Deacs, but it lost focus for prolonged periods, which allowed those teams to cruise past NC State. 

That work inside the Dail Basketball Center seemed to pay off for the Pack in a 66-65 win in come-from-behind fashion over the Irish on Wednesday night. 

NC State trailed by as many as 10 late in the first half after Notre Dame used an 11-0 run, mostly through layups. The Pack allowed the Irish to play through Tae Davis, who had 9 points in the first half, while Notre Dame seemed to come up with nearly every 50-50 ball on the floor. But instead of folding, and allowing the deficit to snowball in the early stages of the second half, the Wolfpack did the opposite. 

NC State was able to chip away at Notre Dame’s lead, which eventually allowed senior guard Marcus Hill to tie the game with 1:07 left and senior forward Ben Middlebrooks to cap his 10-point second-half with a go-ahead free throw in the final 11 seconds. Hill hauled in the rebound off Markus Burton’s miss in the final second to ice the game for the Pack. 

“I’m so proud of this group because in the second half, we responded,” said senior wing Dontrez Styles, who scored 10 points and paced the Wolfpack with seven rebounds. “We could have come out flat in the second half, but we didn’t do that. … We came out here and started competing at a high level, and we got the win.”

The Wolfpack finally found a way to stay composed in league play and it was rewarded. Graduate point guard Michael O’Connell, the team’s captain, believed it was the right step forward.

“The biggest thing for us is we didn’t give up,” O’Connell said. “When things weren’t looking good for us, it didn’t matter. We all stayed together, which I think was pretty big for us.”

NC State leaned on the previous couple days of practice, where coach Kevin Keatts stressed the importance of staying together as a unit for the entire 40 minutes. That may seem odd for a team that was battle-tested en route to an ACC Tournament title and the Final Four last season, but the Pack boasts a roster with eight new faces. That requires time for everyone to fall into place. 

The Wolfpack, however, seemed to play its best second half against a high-major opponent this season. NC State outscored Notre Dame 40-32, including holding the Irish without a made field goal for the final 3:39. 

“I feel like the last few games, when times were tough, sometimes we didn’t come together and play to our best abilities,” O’Connell said. “I think today showed that growth. We’ve emphasized it in practice, making sure we’re sticking together and we’ve gotta win games as a team. I think today was a good step for us.”

While the Pack put together its comeback victory, NC State never used a large run to do it. It won the four-minute battles that Keatts had emphasized throughout the season, which slowly brought Notre Dame back to Earth. The Wolfpack remained calm throughout, reminding one another on the bench what they were going to do. 

Even Hill, one of the quieter players on the roster, was vocal. His 9 second-half points didn’t hurt, either. And neither did senior guard Jayden Taylor’s 12 in the final 20 minutes as he put the Wolfpack on his back for the first seven minutes of the half, including a pair of made 3-pointers, to avoid a flat start. 

The Pack needs most of its core to play well together to win games on a given night, and it found that against the Irish. Hill (15), Taylor (14), Middlebrooks (10) and Styles (10) combined to score 49 of NC State’s 66 points in the win. Exactly what Keatts is looking for from his team – a balanced yet effective scoring punch. 

NC State was able to bounce back from the pair of losses it was dealt last week and it might be the perfect timing. The Wolfpack is set to welcome a North Carolina team that is starting to find its stride to Raleigh on Saturday. It will likely take another similar effort to what the Pack did in the second half if NC State wants to stun the Tar Heels. 

And now the team clad in red and white is brimming with confidence as it prepares for its arch rival 

“We were sick from the two games that we gave up,” Hill said. “Now, we’ve got our confidence back and we’re ready for Saturday.”