Virginia defense stifles NC State Wolfpack to win 51-47

Who knew the Seattle Seahawks were coming to Raleigh? If you follow college basketball, you know the Virginia Cavaliers are the closest thing to the Seahawks. In a game that was tight the entire evening, the largest lead no more than 6 points, second ranked Virginia (22-1, 10-1) lived up to its defensive reputation.

The NC State Wolfpack played inspired defensive basketball themselves en route to losing 51-47 to the Cavaliers at PNC Arena in front of 19,500 fans. The loss added another nail to the Wolfpack’s NCAA coffin as they fell to (14-11, 5-7) with only 6 regular season games to play.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 15 points to aid the Cavs in their first game without No. 2 scorer Justin Anderson who missed the game due a broken finger.

The NC State Wolfpack lost their second game in a row by a total of 8 points and their sixth loss in eight games since upsetting Duke in January.

Feb 11, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Trevor Lacey (1) is consoled by guard Anthony

Halftime: NC State 21 – Virginia 19

Unfortunately for the Pack, they shot a miserable 3 of 17 from 3 point range (.176) with sharpshooter Ralston Turner continuing his late season slump at 0 for 6. If only 3 or 4 of those had dropped, the outcome may have been different.

NC State missed a golden opportunity at the end when a Lacey driving lay-up rimmed out. That basket would have tied the score at 47-47 with :07 remaining. Instead, the Cavaliers grabbed the rebound and hit 4 free throws in the remaining seconds effectively ending the game.

FINAL: Virginia 51 – NC State 47