NC State Returns To Raleigh To Host The Citadel
The last time NC State had a home game in North Carolina’s state capital was on December 4th when they hosted Wisconsin for the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge.
On Sunday that will change as they will return to North Carolina’s state capital after a three road trip to host The Citadel. Their road trip included an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Winston Salem against Wake Forest and two non-conference games at UNCG and at 12th ranked Auburn where they picked up two wins those coming at Wake Forest and at UNCG. However the finale of their three game road trip probably didn’t conclude the way Kevin Keatts and his team would have liked as they lost at 12th ranked Auburn.
NC State who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the game with a record of 8-3 while The Citadel who is a member of the Southern Conference comes into the game with a record 6-5.
As for NC State’s previous game,
As stated above they lost to 12th ranked Auburn.
After winning their first two games on the road at UNCG and at Wake Forest to begin the road trip NC State dropped their road finale at 12th ranked Auburn before returning to North Carolina’s state capital to host The Citadel on Sunday.
The Pack took a 64-62 lead with 5:23 remaining in the game on a Braxton Beverly lay-up, but went scoreless for the next four minutes as Auburn went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
NC State was able to cut the deficit to five, but Auburn hit its final four free throw attempts of the game to prevent the Pack comeback.
The teams combined to be called for 50 fouls and Auburn finished the game with 36 free throw attempts.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
C.J. Bryce led the Pack with his third double-double of the season, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Charlotte native was 7-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
Markell Johnson also finished with a double-double, his first of the season, with 17 points and a season-best 10 assists. Johnson now has 463 assists this season and moved past Julius Hodge during the game into fifth-place on the NC State career assist list. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
D.J. Funderburk also finished in double figures for NC State with 12 points off-the-bench.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
Auburn led for a majority of the second half, but the Pack never let the Tigers run away. Auburn led 46-40, but NC State went on a 9-2 run to retake the lead 49-48 with 13:07 to go. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
The Tigers went on an 11-5 run to take a 59-54 lead, but NC State had another push in it, going on a 10-3 run to take its final lead of the game, 64-62. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
Auburn held a 38-37 lead at halftime. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
NC State jumped out to a 10-5 lead as Bryce scored seven quick points. The Pack held a 14-11 lead when Auburn went on a 15-2 run to take a 26-16 lead.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
The Pack responded with a 15-2 run of its own, taking a 31-28 lead on a Funderburk basket with 6:03 left in the half.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
NC State outrebounded Auburn, 41-38, and also had 10 steals. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/mens-basketball-late-run-sinks-pack-at-no-12-auburn.aspx
Unlike NC State,
The Citadel won their previous game as they topped Longwood.
It took three overtimes, but The Citadel men's basketball team collected the sixth win of the season, and handed Longwood its first home loss of the season, with a 102-99 road victory over the Lancers Thursday night inside Willett Hall.
KEY STATS
The two teams opened the game by swapping 3-pointers, including a game-tying trey from freshman Fletcher Abee on the Bulldogs' first possession. Nearly three minutes into the game, the Bulldogs had stretched the lead out to eight, 14-6, capped by Abee's second trey of the contest.
The Lancers managed to pull to within one, 14-13 with a small run that was capped by a Christian Wilson dunk, but the 'Dogs mounted a streak of their own, a 7-0 run that included a pair of Alex Reed jumpers in the paint.
Longwood took the lead back with 9:32 left in the first half when Lorenzo Phillips made a fast-break jumper in the paint, and the Lancers began to build on the lead, stretching it out to eight at 41-33 with right at two minutes left in the period when Phillips hit a trey.
The 'Dogs were able to close out the half with a 7-2 run to cut the lead, and as the buzzer sounded, Kaelon Harris got a 3-pointer off that was just off the mark.
The Citadel turned the ball over eight times in the first 20 minutes, but Longwood only turned those into four points, while the 'Dogs turned the Lancers' seven turnovers into 10 points.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 5-0 spurt that included an Eddie Davis, III trey, and the two sides traded the lead back and forth with Longwood coming out on top nearly 3:30 in, but The Citadel managed to retake the lead off a Kaiden Rice trey that set the score at 53-51 with 13:37 left in regulation.
The Bulldogs managed to build up the largest lead of the game, 70-59 when Harris hit a field goal in the paint with 5:48 left in regulation, but Longwood used another spurt, this one a 9-0 run, to cut into the deficit with 3:30 remaining.
The Citadel managed to stretch the lead back out to four, 72-68 when Abee hit a jumper just outside the paint, but Longwood close the second half out by out-scoring the 'Dogs 6-4 to force the first overtime game of the season for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs led by as many as six, 81-75 in the first overtime period, but once again, Longwood managed to out-score the Bulldogs, this time 8-2, in the closing minutes to force a second overtime.
In the second overtime period, it was Longwood that appeared headed for the win when the Lancers opened up a five-point, 94-89 lead, but the Bulldogs out-scored the Lancers 5-0 in the final 2:18 to send the game to the third and final overtime period.
The 'Dogs never trailed in the final overtime period, leading by as many as three four times, including the final 102-99 margin.
With nine second left, Phillips managed to make the margin two with the back end of a pair of free throws, but Rice matched him on the other end to set the margin at three, and on the ensuing Longwood possession, Reed came up big with a block on Jaylon Wilson's 3-point attempt to seal the win.
After scoring just three points in the first 20 minutes, Harris ended the game leading all scorers with 27 points and added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Harris went an impressive 13-of-14 at the free throw line and added a pair of 3-pointers, while drawing nine fouls.
Rice joined Harris with over 20 points, netting 21, including a game-high six 3-pointers.
Tyson Batiste just missed out on a double-double of his own with nine assists and seven rebounds, while Davis also came close to a double-double with 17 points and eight boards.
Reed ended his night with 16 points, eight boards, three assists and the game-saving block.
Phillips and Jaylon Wilson led the Lancers with 24 points each, including a trio of 3-pointers from both.
The Bulldogs shot 42.9% (33-of-77) from the field for the game, including 53.3% (16-of-30) in the opening half, while Longwood shot 43.5% (37-of-85) for the game.
“according to https://citadelsports.com/news/2019/12/19/basketball-picks-up-triple-overtime-road-win-over-longwood.aspx
In this game NC State will look to rebound from their recent loss to 12th ranked Auburn while The Citadel will look to get another win.
Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.