The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1497827
40 ■ THE WOLFPACKER pointer to close the first half had the Pack doubling up the Blue Devils, 44- 22, at the break. There was no let-up in the second half. NC State led by as many as 29 points on multiple occasions in what turned into an 84-60 stomping. Best Three Individual Performances 1. Terquavion Smith vs. Vir- ginia Tech in the ACC Tournament on March 8: Perhaps needing a win to erase any doubts about making the NCAA Tournament, NC State made a statement against the Hokies and de- molished Virginia Tech in breathtaking fashion, with Smith leading the way. He became only the second player in the past 25 years of the ACC Tourna- ment to score at least 30 points while making at least 80 percent of his field goal attempts. Smith went 11 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 7 on threes, and had 30 points to go with 8 rebounds in the 97- 77 victory. 2. DJ Burns Jr. at Wake Forest on Jan. 28: Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes seemed at a loss after the game trying to figure out a way to defend Burns. Forbes noted that after watching "a ton of film" on Burns, double-teaming was not an ideal option, but with Burns torching Wake Forest's post defense, Forbes relented and tried. The result was Burns finding a wide open freshman guard LJ Thomas in the opposite corner to break a 64-64 tie with 4:22 left, putting the Pack up for good after NC State had trailed 53-43 with 13 minutes remaining. Burns' scoring is what will be most remembered, however. He totaled a career-high 31 points, making 14 of 26 field goal attempts, and he nearly had a double-double with 9 rebounds. In NC State basketball history, only T.J. Warren scored 30 or more points while shooting 50 percent or better on at least 25 attempted field goals. Burns made 9 of his last 11 shots in the second half, sparking the rally. 3. Jarkel Joiner vs. North Carolina on Feb. 19: Simply put, North Caro- lina could not defend Joiner on this day. He finished the contest making 11 of 21 shots from the field and all 6 of his free throws. He only made 1 of 4 threes, but the one Joiner did connect on brought down the house at PNC Arena, a trey in transition to put the surging Pack up 67-60 on its archrival. When UNC was leading 54-48 with 10 minutes left, Joiner scored 14 of the next 21 points for NC State, helping the Pack take a 69-60 lead. His scor- ing binge included multiple spectacular highlight moments. Joiner finished with 29 points to match his season high. Best Three Dunks 1. Terquavion Smith vs. Creigh- ton in the NCAA Tournament: With the Pack trailing 58-53 and less than 5 minutes remaining, Smith drove with his left hand down the lane after going around a screen at the top of the key from Wolfpack fifth-year senior center DJ Burns Jr. Creighton 7-foot-1 junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, the two-time Big East De- fensive Player of the Year, tracked Smith down the lane, but that did not matter. The 6-foot-4, right-handed Smith rose Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith finished as the Pack's overall scoring leader with an average of 17.9 points per game. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS