NC State's Keatts: 'What an incredible win for these guys'
NC State coach Kevin Keatts talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. Steve Wisemanswiseman@heraldsun.com
NC State coach Kevin Keatts talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. Steve Wisemanswiseman@heraldsun.com
The fact that it was far from pretty did nothing to dampen N.C. State’s enjoyment of its first ACC road win of the season on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh, the ACC’s worst team thus far, had the Wolfpack staring at an awful loss.
But Kevin Keatts’ first Wolfpack team proved once again that it has plenty of fight every time it steps on the court.
“It was a night when we were completely off offensively,” Keatts said after N.C. State’s 72-68 win. “We just talked about staying the course, getting better on the defensive end.”
Looking for its first ACC win, Pittsburgh led by 15 points in the first half. Pitt also led by as many as 11 points in the second half and by nine with 5:54 to play.
N.C. State’s attitude? It was down, not out.
“We never quit on anything until the clock goes zero, zero, zero,” N.C. State junior Torin Dorn said. “If there is time on the clock, we always think we can win. We play fast enough that we can hit four 3s in a row and cut a 12-point lead and the game up really fast.”
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NC State's Keatts: 'What an incredible win for these guys'
NC State's Dorn: 'We never quit on anything till the clock goes 0'
NC State's Torin Dorn talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
NC State's Torin Dorn talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
Steve Wisemanswiseman@heraldsun.com
That’s about how the final minutes of this game played out at the Petersen Events Center.
N.C. State made 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, with Braxton Beverly’s two 3-pointers sandwiched around one by Allerik Freeman, during a 13-0 run that turned a nine-point deficit into a four-point lead.
While the Wolfpack scored 13 points in a row, Pittsburgh (8-13, 0-8 ACC) showed why it is the league’s worst team.
The Panthers shot 31 percent in the second half, missing all 14 of its 3-pointers. After leading 66-57, the Panthers scored just one basket over the final 5:50 of the game.
Pittsburgh starts three freshmen and Keatts counted on the Panthers coming unraveled if the Wolfpack (14-7, 4-4) could push them in the final minutes.
“We did know that they had some young players,” Keatts said, “and if we could stay close and inch away at it, I felt like they might get tight at the end. Now, I don’t know if that happened. I just thought we made plays.”
Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said he’s pretty sure that’s what happened.
“I thought we took three or four bad shots that were not necessary shots,” Stallings said.
N.C. State won even though it shot just 33.8 percent, its worst shooting night in ACC play this season. The Wolfpack attempted 35 3-pointers, more than it has in any league game this season.
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NC State's Keatts: 'What an incredible win for these guys'
NC State's Beverly: 'We started off slow. It happens. But we stayed positive.'
NC State's Braxton Beverly talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
NC State's Braxton Beverly talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
Steve Wisemanswiseman@heraldsun.com
N.C. State only made nine, but three of them came on those three possessions in a row during the game-deciding 13-0 scoring run late.
“I thought we had great shots,” Keatts said. “Ideally, I don’t want to go into a game knowing that we are going to take 35 (3-point) shots. I thought we got some good shots that just didn’t go. When you look at it at the end of the game, I thought we flipped roles. They missed their last 14 3s and we made some shots and I think that’s because of our conditioning.”
Yes, the Wolfpack believe they will be the better team as games go on because they are in better shape. Keatts spent the summer and the fall working his team hard to get the players in the kind of shape needed to play his up-tempo style.
“It’s just the conditioning in practice and the mental toughness that we have,” said NC State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven, who led the Wolfpack with 16 points. “We worked hard in the summer just so we have energy at the last 10, last 15 minutes of the game.”
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NC State's Keatts: 'What an incredible win for these guys'
Yurtseven's 16 points help NC State rally to win over Pitt
NC State center Omer Yurtseven talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
NC State center Omer Yurtseven talks about the Wolfpack's come-from-behind victory over the Pitt Panthers at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018.
Steve Wisemanswiseman@heraldsun.com
In the second half, N.C. State made 46 percent of its shots. Pitt made 31 percent.
Last Thursday at PNC Arena, the Wolfpack scored the game’s final 11 points to beat Wake Forest 72-63.
Even as the possibility of becoming the first ACC team to lose to Pittsburgh this season loomed Wednesday, Keatts saw his players stick together and fight to get the win.
“Our guys were positive,” Keatts said. “I told them ‘If you stay the course, we have the opportunity to win the game.’ What a great road win.”
