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NC State Pulls Away Down The Stretch To Beat LBSU, 76-66

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score

Four Factors NCSU LBSU
eFG% 52.5 42.9
Turnover Rate 13.8
16.9
Off Reb Rate 40.0 38.5
FT Rate 25.0 23.8

Pts Poss OFF_EFF DEF_EFF
LBSU
66 65.1 101.3 116.7
NCSU 76 65.1 116.7 101.3

This game got a little hairy in the second half--NC State just couldn't seem to shake a Long Beach team that is desperate for a win at this point. Fortunately the Wolfpack responded well to the LBSU run that closed the margin to one point, and there wasn't much to sweat over the final nine minutes. The Pack had a 10-point lead at the 9:30 mark, and the 49ers would never get that margin below six points.

It was disappointing to see NC State struggle on the defensive glass (which was no fault of the Nard Dog, who grabbed 10 defensive boards), but other than that, there was nothing to be particularly bothered by. LBSU's defense was pretty much as advertised, and the Pack took advantage, hitting 60% of its twos while grabbing a lot of its misses.

On a side note, one thing that continues to be amusing--at least as long as it's not costing us games--is how well opponents are shooting free throws. LBSU came into this game shooting 58.6% from the line ... so naturally the 49ers hit 80% against us. Coming in, NC State opponents had made 81.3% of their free throws. That figure puts NC State dead last nationally--No. 351!--in "free throw defense." For some reason this happens to us more often than it does to anybody else in the ACC. I don't know which basketball god we offended, but maybe it's time to offer a sacrifice of some sort.