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NC State Wolfpack suffers GOTHAM MESS…Turnovers doom State 69-83

By A. Zach Williams

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If the NC State Wolfpack had somehow managed to win this game it would have been an ugly win.  Instead it was an ugly loss.  It was that kind of game. Saturday night’s finale at Madison Square Garden pitted NC State (9-3,1-0) versus  #22 West Virginia Mountaineers  (10-1) in New York City’s Gotham Classic.  The crowd of 8,088 witnessed an entertaining competitive game fraught with mistakes and turnovers.   The Mountaineers pulled away in the second half defeating the NC State Wolfpack 69-83.

Turnovers Hit Early For NC State Wolfpack

Bob Huggins brought his high intensity aggressive defense to Morgantown, West Virginia 7 years ago continuing the tradition of capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes forced by their style of play.  NC State was no exception as they  committed 16 first half turnovers.

Despite the turnovers the NC State Wolfpack performed well enough in other areas to keep the game close.  State shot a season best 20 of 36 in field goals that included 8 of 14 from 3-point range.  For 3 quarters of the game, the Wolfpack was within striking distance for pulling the upset.

NC State had an 8-0 run to cut into a 13-point West Virginia lead at the close of the first half.  Then the  oddest of plays happened.  With a chance to close the lead to 3 or 4 points, an errant pass careened the ball off the leg of Abdul-Malik Abu, then literally rolled the length of the court into perfect position for Jevon Carter to nail an unopposed 22-foot 3 point jumper as time expired.  It was that kind of game.

Dec 20, 2014; New York, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Jonathan Holton (1) steals the ball. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Halftime  NC State 32 – West Virginia 41

Getting Closer, But No Cigar

The second half showed improvement.  The Pack secured the ball better and played sounder defense.  NC State  quickly reduced the West Virginia lead  to one point at 44-43, but could never quite get over the hump.

The Wolfpack’s ball handling and decision-making did improve significantly in the second half, but they still ended the game with 23 turnovers.

Losses can oftentimes provide valuable experience and situational toughness, but if this loss is to have any meaning at all, the Pack will have to understand that the Blue Devils, Tarheels, Cardinals and every other ACC foe will have access to that game film.  You can bet the better defensive pressure teams in the league will eat the Wolfpack for breakfast, lunch and dinner if they don’t learn from this game and improve.

NC State’s Mark Gottfried summed up the game in a nutshell:   ”In the first half, their pressure bothered us. We played like a young team.  We had 16 turnovers. We got in a hurry. I thought their defense sped us up. We did not play with a lot of poise and that was all to their credit…In the second half we settled down and played. We handled the pressure much better.”

Juwan Staten had 24 points, 6 assists,  3 rebounds and Devin Williams 16 points, 8 rebounds for the victorious Mountaineers.

More from North Carolina State Wolfpack

 QUICK STATS:

Trevor Lacey-  24 points, 3 rebounds,  3 assists

Ralston Turner –  9 points, 4 rebounds

Cat Barber – 16  points and 3 assists

BeeJay Anya – 4 rebounds,  2 blocked shots

NEXT UP:  Louisiana Tech

When: December 23, 2014  7:00pm @ PNC Arena

TV:  ESPN3

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