NC State pulls away from Boston College late, off to 2-0 start in ACC
Wynston Tabbs is the junior who wouldn’t let Boston College go quietly. Shakeel Moore is the N.C. State freshman with no conscience.
Moore scored four points in the final 26 seconds to lift the Wolfpack to a 79-76 win over Boston College.
Tabbs, who scored 12 points in the second half, shot the Eagles back in the game, but Moore wouldn’t back down. His first big basket, a jumper from inside the foul line, put the Pack up one with 26 seconds left.
After an Eagles turnover, Moore dunked the ball with one second left for the final margin. He finished with 12 points, his second straight game in double figures, capping off a wild second half. Moore, the rookie guard from Greensboro, didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
“I put in work everyday,” Moore said. “I’m in the gym everyday. I think the confidence comes from me taking the time to work when nobody is paying attention.”
The final 26 seconds capped off a wild second half in which N.C. State (6-1, 2-0) did everything possible to hand the win to Boston College (2-6, 0-2).
Eagles guard Makai Ashton-Langford scored on a layup to make it a two-point game with 6:51 remaining. Jericole Hellems hit 1 of 2 from the line for State to push the lead to three, but Boston College, Ashton-Langford in particular, hit two free throws to make it a one-point game, 66-65, with less than six minutes remaining.
Wolfpack senior guard Devon Daniels was called for an offensive foul and a 3-pointer from Tabbs gave the Eagles their first lead of the second half. After a 3 from Hellems put State back in front, Tabbs hit another 3 from the wing to put Boston College up one with 4:49 left.
State got two from the line from Hellems to tie the score at 71. Tabbs stayed in takeover mode, hitting two free throws to make it 73-71, but Hellems had an answer, scoring a layup while drawing a foul on the other end. Hellems completed the three-point play to make it a one-point N.C. State lead, 74-73. Showing his worth on both ends, Hellems took a charge from C.J. Felder, his fifth.
Daniels hit one free throw to put the Pack up two, but Boston College kept catching breaks. Jay Heath forced up a long 3 as the shot clock almost expired, and Steffon Mitchell wrestled the ball away from Daniels and the ball remained with the Eagles, down two, with 1:34 remaining. And Boston College went back to the hot hand, Tabbs, who nailed a corner 3 to put the Eagles back in front by one.
Boston College battled all the way back and cut the State lead to three on two separate occasions in the second half. The second time came on a layup from Rich Kelly. But the Wolfpack, desperate for a spark, got a corner three from Thomas Allen to make it 62-56 with 9:32 remaining.
N.C. State turned the ball over on its next possession, then gave up an open 3 to the Eagles to make it a four-point game again. Hellems was fouled hard on a layup attempt and Ashton-Langford was called for a flagrant one.
Hellems, who scored one point against UNC on Dec. 22, hit both free throws, but the Wolfpack couldn’t take advantage of the extra possession, turning the ball back over to Boston College.
N.C. State led by 10 at the break, but the Eagles came out firing, cutting the lead to five in the early minutes. Once they got within four, Daniels hit a wide open 3 to give the Wolfpack some breathing room.
AND ONE
N.C. State improved to 2-0 in the ACC for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
LANE VIOLATION
Manny Bates played just seven minutes in the first half. The 6-11 sophomore appeared to suffer a leg injury and never returned. Bates, who scored four points, came out for warmups to start the second half, but immediately returned to the locker room.
ICYMI
Wednesday’s contest versus Boston College was the first time since Dec. 3 that Kevin Keatts had his full, 14-man roster. Cam Hayes returned last week versus UNC and D.J. Funderburk, Ebenezer Dowuona, Chase Graham and Max Farthing all returned from COVID-19 protocol.
MAKING SENSE OF THE NUMBERS
43: Three-point shooting percentage from Boston College. N.C. State came into the game holding its opponents to 26 percent from three.
21: Points scored by D.J. Funderburk, a season-high for the senior, and one short of his career-high versus ACC opponents.
20: Points for Jerciole Hellems after going 0-8 from the field versus UNC last week.
9: Straight wins in PNC over Boston College for N.C. State.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 10:35 PM with the headline "NC State pulls away from Boston College late, off to 2-0 start in ACC."
