N.C. State rallies, falls short in loss to Syracuse, 87-83. 3 takeaways from the game

After beating Clemson, N.C. State’s plan was to stack more wins and make the NCAA basketball committee take notice.

The problem: Syracuse would not oblige with that plan.

The Orange came into PNC Arena on Tuesday, rode Chris Bell’s 26-point scoring binge to a big first-half lead, then gamely held off the Wolfpack in the final minutes for an 87-83 win.

The Orange’s Quadir Copeland, who had a career-high 25 points, hit two free throws with 16.3 seconds left for a 84-82 lead. The Pack then called timeout with 13.7 seconds showing to set up a final shot.

D.J. Horne was the hero at Clemson on Saturday, hitting the winning shot at the end. Having scored 32 points in Tuesday’s game, he again had the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

“I trust him to make the right play,” Keatts said.

This time, Horne failed to draw a foul while shooting and his shot fell well short of the rim. A foul then was called on the Pack’s Casey Morsell as he fought for the loose ball.

Wolfpack fans angrily objected, believing Horne was fouled by Copeland.

“I thought it was a foul and he should have shot three free throws,” the Pack’s Jayden Taylor said.

Instead, two free throws by Judah Mintz sealed it for the Orange with three seconds left. Syracuse, which beat the Pack 77-65 earlier in the season, has won seven straight against N.C. State.

“We fought. but that’s expected,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “I told our guys, ‘I’m not going to come in here and pat you on the back because it was a close game.’ Every game we’ve played has pretty much been a close game. ... We’ve got to figure this out, because I don’t like it.”

The Pack (16-10, 8-7 ACC) wanted to follow up its biggest win of the season, at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum, with another ACC victory at PNC Arena. It’s all about the NCAA’s NET ranking at this time of the season.

But Syracuse (17-10, 8-8) streaked to a 55-40 halftime lead, shooting 69% from the field as Bell drained eight 3’s in a row. No one could stop him and the Orange fed off it.

“To give up 55 points in a half is just not acceptable,” Keatts said. “That’s not N.C. State basketball. That’s not what we’re about.”

Horne did what he could to give the Pack a comeback win with his season-high in points — the guard’s sixth straight game with 25 or more. Ben Middlebrooks had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but there was not enough help elsewhere, Keatts said.

The Pack took a 82-81 lead, its first since the early moments of the game, when Middllebrooks hit a pair of free throws with 3:15 left. Another Middlebrooks free throw later tied it 83-83.

Three takeaways from the game:

Pack kept fighting, again

Pack coach Kevin Keatts has talked all season about his team’s resolve, its fight.

Keatts saw a lot more of it Tuesday. The Pack fell behind early and had to chase the game. The Orange clearly was feeling it offensively, getting good shots and making them. Bell was hitting everything. By halftime, the Syracuse lead was 15.

“We didn’t have any energy. We weren’t ready to play,” Taylor said. “You don’t give up 55 in the first half. They didn’t feel our presence. We like to pressure the all and make teams uncomfortable, and we didn’t make them uncomfortable.

The Pack’s resilience was being tested, again. And again, the Pack responded, clawing its way back into it.

The defense had to be better in the second half, and was. Horne had to continue to make big shots, and did.

“The crowd got involved and that helped us come back,” Keatts said.

But it all came down to the final seconds and Horne with the ball, again.

Bell takes a toll on Pack

Coaches always expect the unexpected in games, and Keatts got it in the Orange’s Bell.

In the game at Syracuse, JJ Starling burned the Pack for 26 points and Judah Mintz for 20. Come game time Tuesday, Keatts had Casey Morsell on Starling and Michael O’Connel checking Mintz. Those were the Pack’s defensive targets.

And then Bell went off.

The sophomore forward hit his first 3-pointer, having a few words for the Wolfpack bench afterward. Then he hit another, and another.

“He torched us in the first half,” Taylor said.

Keatts used several players on Bell but had his touch. Eight straight 3’s went in before he finally missed in the first half -- he missed both his shots in the second.

It was reminiscent of another outburst from another Syracuse player: former guard John Gillon, who hit nine of his 10 shots from 3-point distance in a February 2017 game. Gillon had 43 points in a 100-93 overtime win.

Bell had 13 points in the Orange’s 77-64 win at Syracuse on Jan. 27.

Keeping control

The game referees led by crew chief Roger Ayers did a good job keeping the game under control, and it wasn’t easy.

The Pack was clearly frustrated by not being able to slow the Orange in the first half, falling behind 55-40, and some of the Orange players were doing a lot of chirping.

The Orange’s Copeland, a 6-6 sophomore from Philadelphia, was chirping at everyone in sight: the refs, his own teammates, fans, the guys on the bench. But he also had a close encounter with Horne and it resulted in a technical foul — on Horne.

With Copeland guarding Horne and just inches away from his face, chirping, Horne whacked him with a forearm to the chest. The referees stopped the game for an official review and Horne given the technical.

Things cooled off after that. It was mostly about basketball in the second half.