Lacey, Turner Take Turns Dominating Richmond
11/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
If Wolfpack fans want something to be excited about, the name Trevor Lacey should do the trick. With the Richmond Spiders giving the Pack a run for its money until the end of the game, Lacey put on a show on Wednesday night. The fourth-year junior guard scored a career-high 26 points in NC State's 84-72 win over Richmond. On Lacey, head coach Mark Gottfried went with "phenomenal" to describe his reliable shooting guard.
In a back-and-forth game that featured 29 lead changes, the Wolfpack made the plays late to win. NC State closed the game on a 20-9 run, lifting the Pack to its first 5-0 start since 2009.
"I thought we beat a really good team tonight," said Gottfried. He also mentioned how Richmond was the type of team who could easily earn an NCAA Tournament spot at the end of the season. With the Wolfpack's win on Wednesday night, Gottfried said he thought the team looked better defensively.
That improved defense came in the second half after the Spiders shot 72 percent in the first 20 minutes. In particular, Richmond's Kendall Anthony and T.J. Cline had a combined 34 points for the Spiders.
Going back to Lacey, the guard made it seem easy to get in the lane during the game, effortlessly racking up 21 points during the first half. Showing his animated personality, Lacey was able to keep the team amped up, especially when Richmond was knocking at the door.
"My jump shot was just going in tonight so I kept shooting it," said Lacey. "I was just trying to stay aggressive and take advantage of the opportunities I had."
Working together with Lacey, Ralston Turner looked stellar tonight as he contributed 23 of the Pack's final numbers. Turner was hitting almost everything from behind the three-point arc, contributing points at when NC State needed to stay in the game.
On what changed the game, Turner said, "We were able to execute our offense down the stretch and get fouled to make a bucket."
With five minutes left in the game, the Pack picked it up both offensively and defensively to create some comfortable space in between themselves and Richmond.
In particular, Kyle Washington contributed five late points and added a few more crucial rebounds to help seal the Wolfpack's fate.
It should be noted that the team's free throw shooting was much better tonight, shooting almost 82 percent from the line. Gottfried mentioned that making those late-game free throws are critical for a win from the Pack.
"Today we made our free throws to make the game easier than it could have been."