By Phillip Murray
RALEIGH N.C
Ga Tech came into PNC Arena looking to end a 3 game losing streak. And throughout the game the Yellow Jackets showed they had a dire sense of urgency to get a win. For NC State fans, there was a major concern about star guard Cat Barber’s knee after suffering an injury on Saturday against Duke.
Cat Barber answered the speculation with a sensational 36 point game. Abdul-Malik Abu was second in scoring for the Wolfpack, but they were the ones who mainly contributed to N.C State offense. Abu made his presence well known, scoring 7 out of 9 of N.C State’s first points. Barber came out on fire by hitting two jump shots, a layup, and two consecutive FTs. Some momentum seemed to be established with Barber having 14 points and Abu with 13 points in the half . The issue for State? Georgia Tech shot well in the first half also. Adam Smith and Nick Jacobs for Tech each had 12 points to lead the yellow jackets to end the half 47-33. Overall Tech shot 47.4 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc. N.C State shot only 44.8 percent from the floor and failed to hit any 3 pointers in the first half, which is extremely detrimental in college hoops.
N.C State didn’t start the second half well in the second half shooting 3 for 7 of its shots, shooting even worse of a percentage than the first half. Caleb Martin ignited the Wolfpack hitting N.C State’s first 3 pointer. Barber filled hitting back to back 3 pointers to put N.C State within 3 points. The Yellow Jackets took a timeout with 7:37 remaining in the game.
From the moment Tech came out of the break the Yellow Jackets showed sheet dominance of will. Tech proceeded to go on a one-sided 13-1 run to put them up by 13. Maverick Rowan hit back to back 3 pointers, and Abu jammed on a breakaway dunk to help keep N.C State within 8 with 1:36 left, but they had no answer for Tech’s offense. The Yellow Jackets held strong and put the game away beating the Wolf pack 90-83. With the loss N.C State falls to 11-10, one game above.500. N.C State is now 1-7 in the ACC, and will face an extremely tough hot 15th Miami team Saturday at home.
