Wolfpack Drops Overtime Shootout to Syracuse
2/1/2017 8:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Freshman phenom Dennis Smith Jr. lit up the box score with his second triple-double of the season as the Wolfpack took red-hot Syracuse the distance, but couldn't keep up in the extra overtime period as Syracuse left Raleigh 100-93 victors.
Smith Jr., who finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists, became the first ACC player to notch two triple-doubles in the same season since Clemson's Sharone Wright in 1992-93; however, Smith Jr. is the first player in ACC history to have two in conference play.
NC State and Syracuse came out firing on all cylinders offensively and it was sophomore Maverick Rowan spearheading the effort, scoring 12 points in the first 8:29 of play as the Wolfpack was in the driver's seat early on, taking a 22-20 lead.
Rowan had 10 points in the entire game when NC State visited Syracuse last season.
With Syracuse's notorious zone defense placing an on-ball emphasis on Smith Jr., he still made his impact on the offensive end early on, dishing out eight first half assists. Smith's last two dishes of the half led to dunks from Abdul-Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya that injected the squad with a jolt of energy as the Wolfpack cut the Orange's lead down to 44-41 at the intermission.
The theme continued as the second half opened with an emphatic dunk from Omer Yurtseven to keep the Wolfpack's momentum rolling.
NC State continued to capitalize, going on a 12-3 run capped off by back to back transition 3-pointers from Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan—both of which were assisted by Smith.
The run continued to grow as the Wolfpack stretched the lead to as high as 16 points. But a lights out night from behind the arc for Syracuse continued as the Orange hit four consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead down to one with just over five minutes to go in regulation.
NC State never relinquished its lead its regulation, and the game looked like it had been put to bed when Rowan hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with 14 seconds to go, but Syracuse's John Gillon matched it with a 3 of his own with 1.8 seconds to go that tied the game up at 87-87. '
Rowan tried to give the Wolfpack the lead back at the buzzer, but his corner 3 clanged off the rim.
The Orange scored the first seven points of overtime, giving it its first lead since the 18:06 mark of the second half.
The Wolfpack clawed its way back into the game and kept fighting; Rowan kept his career night alive, completing a 4-point play with 1:30 to go that cut the deficit to 96-93.
From there, NC State couldn't overcome Syracuse's nearly flawless performance from the charity stripe. The Orange finished 21 for 23 from the free throw line.
Maverick Rowan led the way with 31 points as every NC State starter scored double-digit points. Yurtseven finished with 10, Henderson had 16 on eight field goal attempts and Abu had 19.
NC State is back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. as the Wolfpack host Miami at PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
OTHER MILESTONES
-Syracuse's John Gillon broke Steph Curry's PNC Arena 3-point field goal record, hitting nine shots from behind the arc. He finished with 43 points on just 13 field goal attempts.
-Abdul-Malik Abu moved past Tom Gugliotta into seventh on NC State's career leaderboard for offensive rebounds. Abu has 242 offensive boards in his career in red and white.
-Dennis Smith Jr. moved past Maverick Rowan and T.J. Warren into third on NC State's freshman scoring leaderboard.
Smith Jr., who finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists, became the first ACC player to notch two triple-doubles in the same season since Clemson's Sharone Wright in 1992-93; however, Smith Jr. is the first player in ACC history to have two in conference play.
NC State and Syracuse came out firing on all cylinders offensively and it was sophomore Maverick Rowan spearheading the effort, scoring 12 points in the first 8:29 of play as the Wolfpack was in the driver's seat early on, taking a 22-20 lead.
Rowan had 10 points in the entire game when NC State visited Syracuse last season.
With Syracuse's notorious zone defense placing an on-ball emphasis on Smith Jr., he still made his impact on the offensive end early on, dishing out eight first half assists. Smith's last two dishes of the half led to dunks from Abdul-Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya that injected the squad with a jolt of energy as the Wolfpack cut the Orange's lead down to 44-41 at the intermission.
The theme continued as the second half opened with an emphatic dunk from Omer Yurtseven to keep the Wolfpack's momentum rolling.
NC State continued to capitalize, going on a 12-3 run capped off by back to back transition 3-pointers from Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan—both of which were assisted by Smith.
The run continued to grow as the Wolfpack stretched the lead to as high as 16 points. But a lights out night from behind the arc for Syracuse continued as the Orange hit four consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead down to one with just over five minutes to go in regulation.
NC State never relinquished its lead its regulation, and the game looked like it had been put to bed when Rowan hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with 14 seconds to go, but Syracuse's John Gillon matched it with a 3 of his own with 1.8 seconds to go that tied the game up at 87-87. '
Rowan tried to give the Wolfpack the lead back at the buzzer, but his corner 3 clanged off the rim.
The Orange scored the first seven points of overtime, giving it its first lead since the 18:06 mark of the second half.
The Wolfpack clawed its way back into the game and kept fighting; Rowan kept his career night alive, completing a 4-point play with 1:30 to go that cut the deficit to 96-93.
From there, NC State couldn't overcome Syracuse's nearly flawless performance from the charity stripe. The Orange finished 21 for 23 from the free throw line.
Maverick Rowan led the way with 31 points as every NC State starter scored double-digit points. Yurtseven finished with 10, Henderson had 16 on eight field goal attempts and Abu had 19.
NC State is back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. as the Wolfpack host Miami at PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
OTHER MILESTONES
-Syracuse's John Gillon broke Steph Curry's PNC Arena 3-point field goal record, hitting nine shots from behind the arc. He finished with 43 points on just 13 field goal attempts.
-Abdul-Malik Abu moved past Tom Gugliotta into seventh on NC State's career leaderboard for offensive rebounds. Abu has 242 offensive boards in his career in red and white.
-Dennis Smith Jr. moved past Maverick Rowan and T.J. Warren into third on NC State's freshman scoring leaderboard.
Team Stats
SU
ST
FG%
.561
.515
3FG%
.577
.438
FT%
.913
.550
RB
27
33
TO
11
14
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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Monday, September 22
Will Wade Summer Press Conference
Wednesday, July 09
Will Wade on ACC PM
Wednesday, May 14
Coach Will Wade Chats with Matt Chazanow and Jeff Gravley
Wednesday, March 26