RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State men’s basketball players Casey Morsell and Dereon Seabron both set career-highs Saturday afternoon to lead NC State past Colgate, 77-74, inside PNC Arena.
Morsell scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and added eight points at the foul line while Seabron reset the career-high he had on Tuesday night, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was the second consecutive double-double for Seabron.
Seabron scored the winning points, converting two free throws after he was fouled on a drive, to break a 74-74 tie with two seconds remaining.
From the 9:54 mark of the second half until an Ebenezer Dowuona free throw with .6 of a second remaining, Morsell and Seabron combined to score of 18 of NC State’s 20 points during that span.
NC State never trailed by more than two points and led for over 32 minutes of game time, but the Raiders never let the Pack get out of reach as NC State never led by more than four points in the final 15 minutes of the game.
NC State jumped out to a 14-4 lead five minutes into the contest and still led by 10, 36-26, with 5:27 remaining in the opening half, but the Pack only made one field goal in the final five minutes of the opening half, allowing Colgate to close the half on an 11-2 run to cut its deficit to 38-37 at the break.
NC State opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take its biggest lead of the second half, 47-39, with 15:57 to go, but the Raidres responded with a 11-2 run over the next three minutes, taking its first lead of the game on a Jeff Woodward lay-up with 13:03 to play.
The game would stay within one possession for the next nine minutes as the two teams exchanged the lead seven times. A three-point play by Seabron gave the Pack a 68-64 lead with 3:56 to go.
Colgate responded with the next five points to take a 69-68 lead with 2:58 remaining. Two free throws by Terquavion Smith put the Pack back in front, but Colgate again had an answer as a lay-up by Woodward put the Raiders back in front with 2:21 to play.
After empty possessions from both teams, a Seabron lay-up put the Pack in front with 1:21 to go. After a defensive stop, Morsell made two free throws to put NC State in front 74-71, but Colgate had one final basket in it as Tucker Richardson nailed a three-pointer with eight seconds to go to tie the game at 74.
Terquavion Smith (12) and Cam Hayes (10) also reached double figures for the Pack.
NC State returns to action Tuesday evening at 8 pm when it faces Central Connecticut as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Uncasville, Ct.
