Notre Dame Pulls Away in Second Half to Defeat NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men’s basketball team battled back from an early hole to take the lead in the second half, but Notre Dame regained control of the game with a 24-6 run to pull away for a 69-57 win over the Pack Saturday afternoon.

NC State shot a season-low 29.9 percent from the field while Notre Dame shot 52.9 percent.

Notre Dame improves to 16-7, 9-3 in the ACC, while the Pack falls to 10-14, 3-10 in the ACC.

Terquavion Smith led the Pack in scoring for the third consecutive game, finishing with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Dereon Seabron was one rebound short of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Casey Morsell and Cam Hayes each finished with 11 points.

Notre Dame jumped out to an 11-0 lead as the Pack missed its first eight shots. Smith got NC State on the board with a three-pointer with 13:33 to play in the first half.

Notre Dame though responded to the Pack’s first basket with a 12-3 run, taking its largest lead of the game, 23-6, on a Dane Goodwin basket with 8:39 to go in the opening half.

The Fighting Irish still led 27-12 with 6:05 remaining when NC State came to life. The Pack scored on five consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 27-23. Notre Dame made a three to push the lead back to seven, but Seabron made a lay-up and Morsell knocked down a three to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 33-28 at the break.

Notre Dame scored the first basket of the second half, but NC State went on a 12-2 run to take a 40-37 lead on two Seabron free throws with 14:26 to play.

The Fighting Irish drained a three on its next possession to tie the game at 40. The three by Trey Wertz was the start of a 24-6 run for Notre Dame that gave the Irish a 61-46 lead with 4:20 to play.

NC State managed to get within eight with 1:13 to play, but could get no closer as Notre Dame’s Goodwin broke free for a lay-up to seal the win.

Paul Atkinson, Jr., led five Notre Dame players in double figures with 15 points.

NC State completes its three-game homestand Wednesday evening when it hosts Wake Forest. Tipoff at PNC Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.