How the Wolfpack ignored the ‘noise’ to end a three-game losing streak by beating Miami
If there was building tension around the N.C. State basketball program, and it seemed that way, it eased late Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack had lost three straight ACC games. Scuttlebutt on social media, which rarely is kind, centered on State coach Kevin Keatts and everything from how he runs his offense to his player rotation to how much a contract buyout might cost.
But despite all that “noise,” as the players and coaches like to call it, the Pack played a good basketball game against a good basketball team and won it. In the final minutes of a 74-68 victory over the Hurricanes, only cheers – not any jeers – were being heard.
Keatts was in such a good mood after the game that he playfully posed as a media member and asked a reporter to take the stage, sit behind the mic and answer a few questions.
“We knew we weren’t going to lose this one,” Wolfpack guard Jayden Taylor said. “Four in a row? Crazy. We knew we were going to win. It wasn’t even an option to lose this one. We had to come in here and handle business.”
The Morsell effect
Earlier in the week, Wolfpack guard Casey Morsell had posted a short video on one of his social media accounts that centered on handling adversity, of how growth can come from hard times. It was an inspirational kind of thing but Morsell played Tuesday like he took it to heart – that it wasn’t just noise.
If the Wolfpack has a leader this season, someone to replace what the ever-energetic Jarkel Joiner gave the Pack last year, it could be Morsell. The former transfer from Virginia is not Joiner and does not pretend to be in his more quiet on-court demeanor, but he’s now in his third season with Keatts and the Wolfpack, is a graduate and is trying to fill the leadership void.
Morsell was not the Pack’s leading scorer Tuesday – D.J. Horne had 24 points. But Morsell’s 17 points came from some big time shots and scores, the 6-3 guard either hitting 3-pointers or muscling his way into the paint for driving baskets.
Morsell took just nine shots but hit six, including three of four of his 3’s. He made them count.
“It feels good, more so the fact that it puts the team in a better position to be successful,” Morsell said. “I believe in my shot. Everybody else does.”
When the Canes took a 52-50 lead with 8:41 left in the second half, it was Morsell who stepped up and knocked down a 3. The Wolfpack had the lead back and would not give it up as it worked its way to a hard-fought win that improved its ACC record to 6-4 and overall mark to 14-7.
On a couple of Morsell’s baskets, Miami coach Jim Larranaga, standing with arms crossed, had a look that seemed to have some admiration in it. Virginia coach Tony Bennett praised Morsell’s maturity and experience last week, showing his former player respect, and others in the league likely feel the same about him.
But for Morsell and the Pack, winning was the main thing Tuesday. From the start, the Wolfpack played with an enough-is-enough attitude after the losses to Virginia Tech, Virginia and then Syracuse, when Keatts said no one played well and he did not coach well.
“I mean, you always want to go in with the approach to win, and I would say we played with a sense of urgency,” Morsell said.
Pack survives Pack’s shooting
The Pack led 33-29 at the half, but Miami’s Nigel Pack, a complete no-show in the first half, became the show for the Hurricanes in the second. Pack was hitting 3’s, driving the lane, scoring 23 points after playing just nine scoreless minutes in the first half.
“He kind of got loose, got in a rhythm,” Taylor said.
But Pack missed a jumper with 55 seconds left in regulation and the Wolfpack in front 70-65. Fouled by Horne on a 3-point shot a few seconds later, he then missed two of his three free throws.
Before long, the Pack was staging its first wild celebration in the locker room since beating Wake Forest, the sting of losing over.
“It was amazing,” Taylor said. “This is what it’s all about, coming in here, protecting PNC, winning at home. There’s no better feeling.”
The Canes, who led the ACC in 3-point shooting, made seven of 28 against the Wolfpack. Larranaga credited the Pack’s defense while also sounding a bit like former State coach Herb Sendek in saying the loss was just one game and every game has the “same worth” – or these days, it’s one 20th of the ACC schedule.
After the game, neither Keatts nor the Wolfpack players were aware that Georgia Tech, which comes to PNC Arena on Saturday, had knocked off No. 3 North Carolina in Atlanta.
“What happened?” Keatts asked.
The Yellow Jackets won 74-73.
“That’s a great win, taking care of homecourt,” Keatts said.
On Tuesday, especially after three losses, that’s all that mattered for the Pack.
