NC State Cruises Past Notre Dame 76-58
NC State took an early 9-0 lead over Notre Dame in the opening minutes and never looked back blowing past the Irish 76-58 Saturday afternoon in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack led by as many as 30 points in the second half and led by at least 11 points for the final 29 minutes of game action.
Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated’s half-by-half recap of Notre Dame’s seventh-straight loss.
FIRST HALF
It wasn’t the start Notre Dame was looking for as NC State hit 4-of-6 to open the game taking a quick 9-0 lead in the first 2:09 of action.
Wolfpack guard Torin Dorin scored five of the points to help fuel the run. Notre Dame finally broke through behind a backwards layup from senior big man Austin Torres. Senior point guard Matt Farrell, who returned to the starting lineup, followed with a layup of his own to cut the lead to 9-4 heading into the first media timeout.
NC State extended their lead to 15-6 with 13:02 left in the half behind four more points from Dorn and a jumper via forward Abdul-Malik Abu. A three-pointer from sophomore Irish guard TJ Gibbs made it a 15-9 Wolfpack lead at the under-12 media timeout.
The next stretch was one to forget for the Irish as the group did not score a single point from Gibbs’ basket (12:06) to the under-8 media timeout (7:40). NC State got eight points from guard Braxton Beverly during that stretch including back-to-back three-pointers to push the team’s lead to 23-9 at the break.
A free throw from junior forward Elijah Burns stopped the bleeding a bit, but three points rom guard Allerik Freeman and a jumper via big man Omer Yurtseven made it 28-10 NC State with under six minutes left in the half.
Junior Irish guard Rex Pflueger connected on a three-pointer to end a 0-for-8 stretch from the field for the Irish, but Freeman danced and shook Pflueger on the other end on a jumper to answer.
NC State held a 30-13 advantage at the under-4 media timeout (3:57).
Dorn continued to be a thorn in the side of the Irish getting five more points over the last few minutes of the half to keep the Wolfpack comfortably ahead going into halftime. Farrell scored five of the half’s final seven total points scored, but NC State remained up by 16 points at 37-21.
The Irish shot 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from the field in the half including 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) behind the arc. NC State forced eight first half turnovers for Notre Dame. Farrell led the scoring for the Irish with seven points.
NC State shot 50 percent (15-of-30) overall even with a 3-of-10 (30 percent) clip behind the arc. Dorn had 14 of the team’s 37 points in the half.
The Wolfpack assisted on 11 of 15 baskets while also winning the rebounding total 21-14.
SECOND HALF
The beginning of the second half didn’t provide any changes of the flow for either team. NC State started the half on a 9-2 run behind seven points from Beverly to up the their lead to 46-23.
Gibbs slowed the run down with a three-pointer, but the Wolfpack responded with a 7-2 run to take a 53-28 lead at the under-16 media timeout. NC State started the half 7-of-9 from the field while Notre Dame was 3-of-6.
The Irish continued to shoot it well in the second half, but couldn’t make any stops on defense. Both teams were at 60 percent from the field in the second half heading into the under-12 media timeout. Notre Dame’s inability to get stops allowed the Wolfpack to control the game comfortably still at 58-37 with 11:31 left.
Gibbs hit a three-pointer during that stretch to hit 11 points while Torres had eight points and six rebounds to serve as the team’s second-leading scorer. Dorn paced the Wolfpack with 17 points while Beverly was up to 15 points.
NC State continued its red hot shooting in the half going on an 10-1 run to extend its lead to a game-high 30 points at 68-38 with 8:25 left. The lead was 70-42 at the under-8 media timeout. At that point, Notre Dame was 8-of-14 from the floor while NC State was 13-of-22 in the half.
Notre Dame started chipping away at the NC State lead over the final seven-plus minutes, but it came a little too late.
The Irish closed the game on a 16-6 run behind three three-pointers from Farrell to get the Irish deficit under 20. NC State wound up winning the contest 76-58 to avenge last month’s 30-point loss to Notre Dame in South Bend.
Despite shooting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half, Notre Dame shot under 40 percent (21-of-54 – 38.9 percent) for the eighth-straight game in ACC play.
Farrell finished with 16 points to lead the Irish in his return. Gibbs added 14 points of his own while Geben and Torres each had nine.
Like the first half, NC State shot 15-of-30 to finish the game shooting 50 percent. It is the third-straight game Notre Dame has allowed an opponent to hit the 50 percent mark for a game.
Dorn finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Beverly wound up with 16 points. Yurtseven added 10 points and 10 rebounds to round out the team’s top three scorers.
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