Instant observations: NC State
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — NC State entered Saturday afternoon with a chance to make a splash for its NCAA at-large resume with a date at Wake Forest, the 33rd-best team in the NET rankings.
The Wolfpack, which have yet to win a Quad 1 game, had an opportunity to do just that against the Demon Deacons. After a back-and-fourth final four minutes of the contest, NC State came up just short in an 83-79 loss at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum.
Wake Forest outscored NC State 42-34 in the final 20 minutes to take the contest. Graduate guard DJ Horne missed a jumper in front of the basket with three seconds to play, which would have tied the game at 81.
Horne paced NC State with 31points, while graduate forward DJ Burns added 14 and junior forward Mohamed Diarra chipped in with 13.
Clinical offense in the first half
NC State’s offense did not have any problems getting rolling at Wake Forest. The Wolfpack was able to go on multiple runs in the first 20 minutes, including a 10-0 burst to build a 7-point lead for the red and white.
The Wolfpack, paced by Horne, closed the half by making 10 of its final 12 shots in the period. The Arizona State transfer accounted for six of those makes on seven attempts in the final six minutes of the first half.
Horne led all scorers with 19 first-half points, which he did on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting with a pair of made three-pointers. While the combo guard was deadly, NC State had an inside presence in the first half, too, led by Diarra.
Diarra had 8 points on 3-for-3 shooting in the opening 20 minutes, including a corner three-pointer. Burns added 6 points in the paint.
Rebounding? It was better
NC State entered Saturday’s contest being out-rebounded in four of its previous five contests, including a 37-28 deficit to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
Well, the Wolfpack seemed to solve that problem against the Demon Deacons. NC State outrebounded Wake Forest 35-32, including 8-5 on the offensive glass.
How did NC State do it? It went big on the floor to match Wake Forest’s pair of near seven-footers. Kevin Keatts used a combination of Burns, Diarra, and junior forwards Ben Middlebrooks and Ernest Ross to go after any and every ball on the backboard.
NC State held a 15-8 rebounding advantage within the first 10 minutes, and Diarra was an integral reason why. He had just as many boards as Wake Forest’s entire team in that span as he was a key cog for the Wolfpack.
Once halftime rolled around, NC State led 21-13 on the glass, including a 5-1 advantage on the offensive end of the floor. Diarra had nine boards at halftime, while Burns and junior guard Jayden Taylor had four each.
Wake Forest was able to cut into NC State’s rebounding total in the second half. The Demon Deacons won the battle on the glass in the final 20 minutes 19-14, but the Wolfpack did enough to win the overall rebounding contest.
Diarra led the Wolfpack with 12 rebounds, while junior guard Jayden Taylor chipped in with six.
DJ Horne logs season-best performance
Horne entered the day on a shooting tear with 20 points in each of his last three outings,and he continued with it against the Demon Deacons.
The Cary, N.C., native took over the game to end the first half, and then was the go-to offensive weapon the final 20 minutes of action for the Wolfpack. Though he cooled off in the second half, Horne was able to rack up a season-best point output at Wake Forest.
Horne’s prolific shooting day was a product of a 13-for-21 shooting effort from the field, which included a 4-of-7 mark from beyond the arc. The contest marked his first double-digit made field goal outing of the season. He also added three rebounds and an assist.
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