BLACKSBURG, Va. – The NC State men’s basketball team never trailed as it held on for a 73-69 win over Virginia Tech Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum.
With the win, NC State improves to 13-4, 3-3 in the ACC while Virginia Tech falls to 11-5, 1-4 in the ACC.
Virginia Tech never led, but made a furious comeback in the final 63 seconds to make it close.
The Pack took an 11-point lead, 65-54, on a Terquavion Smith jumper in the lane with 1:12 to play when the Hokies started their surge.
On VT’s next possession, Darius Maddox was fouled and he made both free throws to cut the deficit to nine. The Pack then turned it over and Maddox buried a three-pointer to cut the Pack’s lead to 65-59, with 55 seconds to go.
NC State turned it over again and Maddox again hit a three-pointer to bring the Hokies within one possession, 65-62, with 47 seconds left.
Jarkel Joiner was fouled and made two free throws to push the lead back out to five, but Virginia Tech scored on the other end to get it back to one possession, 67-64, with 31 seconds remaining.
Greg Gantt split a pair of free throws to give NC State a 68-64 lead and the Pack forced a turnover on the other end. Joiner again knocked down both of his free throws to extend the lead to six with 22 seconds to go.
Maddox made another three to cut the Pack’s lead in half, but Joiner again pushed the lead back to two possessions with a free throw.
Sean Pedulla made two free throws to bring Virginia Tech within two with seven seconds to go, but Smith calmly connected on both free throws with six seconds to go to complete the scoring and dash the Hokies comeback attempt.
Smith led the Pack with 22 points and also had team-highs in steals (3) and assists (3).
Joiner added 21 points and a season-high eight rebounds
Casey Morsell finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and DJ Burns added 10 points.
Greg Gantt tied his career-high with nine rebounds.
NC State made its first five field goals of the game to jump out to a 13-2 lead. The Hokies never got closer than seven points in the opening half and the Pack ended the half on a 5-0 run to take its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes into the locker room, 36-22.
It’s the second consecutive game NC State has held its opponent to 22 first half points and opened up a double digit halftime advantage.
NC State has a bye during the midweek and is back in action next Saturday when it hosts 12th-ranked Miami at PNC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game is a Regional Sports Network broadcast.
