TRACKING THE PACK
MARCH/APRIL 2024 ■ 17
■ No Surrender
It just didn't seem as though it was going to be NC State's night when
the team welcomed Wake Forest to PNC Arena on Jan. 16.
After battling back from an early deficit to tie the score at 14-14, the
hosts fell behind again and eventually allowed the Demon Deacons to
build a 12-point lead. The Wolfpack still trailed by 11 with 9:48 to play and
was without head coach Kevin Keatts, who had been ejected after picking
up his second technical foul in the first half.
Still, the Pack refused to give in and took its first lead of the game on a
pair of free throws by graduate guard Casey Morsell with 2:17 left. Mor
-
sell's shots were part of a 17-7 run to close the game — a scoring barrage
that
propelled NC State to a rousing 83-76 victory over its in-state rival.
Junior forward Ben Middlebrooks (left) was one of four Pack players to
reach double figures, going 5 for 5 from the floor and finishing with 14
points while adding 6 rebounds before fouling out. Graduate guard DJ
Horne had a game-high 21 points, while junior guard Jayden Taylor added
12 and graduate forward D.J. Burns Jr. had 10.
"Those young men believe, and they're fighting," Keatts said. "Do I like
the fact that we had a bunch of technicals or that DJ Horne was so excited
at the end [that he] was waving to somebody? No, I don't. But we're not
going to get pushed around. It's just not going to happen."
PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS
