Hot-shooting NC State rolls past Virginia, 77-63

The best shooting night of the season for NC State led to its most efficient offensive performance of the season, and more specifically, an easy double-digit victory over Virginia. The Wahoos had a pretty good day at the offensive end themselves but were just no match for a Wolfpack team shooting lights out from everywhere.

This game turned midway through the first half, when NC State went on an 11-0 run to turn a 26-18 deficit into a 29-26 lead. From there, Virginia was left just trying to keep pace, and couldn’t do it, After the Cavs tied the game at 29, State went on another 11-0 run to fully seize control. The Wolfpack led by 11 at the break and led by as many as 21 in the second half.

Jericole Hellems and Terquavion Smith both had outstanding games, and were particularly effective in the first half while the Pack was otherwise sluggish in the early going. Those two combined to make nine threes in the opening 20, including a fadeaway three by Hellems as time expired, just to add some emphasis.

Dereon Seabron scored 13 points, with six boards, and five assists in what was a relatively quiet night for him, but with Hellems and Smith combining to shoot 16-25 from the field, State did not need a heroic effort from Seabron.

Former Cavalier Casey Morsell had a nice game against his former team, finishing with 12 points on 5-7 shooting while grabbing seven boards.

UVA shot 10-17 from three but just 13-38 (34.2%) inside the arc, and the latter prevented the Cavs from putting a dent into State’s lead during the second half. In a game of outliers, Virginia’s two-point shooting was the one really bad one, and made a huge difference.

It’s NC State’s first win at home since Dec. 9, and with it the Pack improves to 10-10 (3-6). A trip to Notre Dame is next.