NC State
13-8, 4-4
#8 Notre Dame
19-2, 7-1
No. 8 Notre Dame Edges Wolfpack In Overtime
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2015
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RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State men's basketball team went to the wire with the nation's No. 8 team, but fell 81-78 to Notre Dame in overtime on Sunday night.
NC State (13-8, 4-4), fueled by its third sellout crowd in as many home games, played one of its best halves of basketball in the opening period. The Wolfpack led 40-22 with 3:36 on the first-half clock and shot .621 in the first half. The Pack led 42-30 at halftime.
Notre Dame (19-2, 7-1), one of the most offensively efficient teams in the country and the ACC's top scoring team, hit three 3-pointers early in the second half to cut the lead to 48-43. The Irish took its first lead of the game at the 13:22 mark in the second half.
From there, it was a tight game. A battle of two teams not willing to give in and trading big shots.
Overtime: The Wolfpack led 71-69 and had the ball with 15 seconds left but turned it over. With 1.8 seconds left, Notre Dame's V.J. Beachem scored to tied the game at 71 and force overtime. Ralston Turner buried a 3-pointer to put the Wolfpack ahead 76-73 with 3:10 left. Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton promptly answered, sinking a 3-pointer at the other end 19 seconds later. Notre Dame then took the lead and held on for the win, with a final 3-point attempt by Trevor Lacey being blocked.
Gott Said It: "Well let me start off by saying, I am extremely proud of our effort. I thought our guys played really hard and played their hearts out. They did everything they possibly could from wanting to win and we just came up a couple of plays short. It's never one play. It's a lot of different things that happen throughout the game. A defensive rebound late in the game would have been important. We had a small line-up in and that made it hard.
"At the same time, I'm really proud of our effort. It's something we have to build on. We can't hang our head and get down. Notre Dame offensively is a terrific team. They made one 3-pointer in the first half. We knew we wouldn't hold them to just one in the second half. Their penetration and pitch was really hard for us to defend. So much started with (Jerian) Grant and his penetration. They made some big shots and some big plays down the stretch. I'm proud of my guys. We are going to build on it and stay positive. We have to get ourselves ready for Wednesday and go from there."
NC State used a well-balanced offensive attack, with seven players scoring eight points or more. Lacey finished with 13 points and a game-best seven assists while playing 44 minutes. Caleb Martin and Kyle Washington each scored 12 points. Notre Dame was led by Jerian Grant with 25 points and four assists in 45 minutes of floor time.
Up Next: NC State, which has played three straight ranked opponents at home, will be at PNC Arena Wednesday, Jan. 28 vs. Clemson. Wednesday's contest is a 9 p.m. tip on the ACC's network affiliates (WRAL-TV in the Triangle).
