Late sequence leaves NC State at a loss and Kevin Keatts looking for an explanation
N.C. State made its own bed with turnovers and missed 3-pointers at Boston College.
Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts understands that but he also would like an explanation for a key sequence near the end of a 71-68 loss to the Eagles on Sunday night.
With 22 seconds left, and N.C. State down 69-68, Wolfpack guard Devon Daniels rebounded a miss by former Duke guard Derryck Thornton and dribbled down to the court. Daniels got cut off in the paint by Boston College guard Jay Heath and forward Steffon Mitchell.
Daniels left his feet and tried to make a pass. The ball was loose and with 14.5 seconds left, N.C. State forward Jericole Hellems dove on the floor and grabbed the ball.
At that moment, Keatts signaled to referee Kipp Kissinger for a timeout. Keatts didn’t get the timeout. Hellems tried to pass the ball to teammate Markell Johnson.
Mitchell stepped in front of the pass in a tight window between Johnson and the sideline in front of N.C. State’s bench. Mitchell tapped the ball once, stepped out of bounds, came back and then picked the ball up near midcourt and shoveled it ahead to Jarius Hamilton for a dunk and a 71-68 lead with 8.8 seconds left.
There were three ways N.C. State could have come up with the ball and still down one point — Keatts got the timeout, Mitchell was ruled out of bounds, Mitchell was called for going out of bounds and being the first player to touch the ball. None of them worked out in the Wolfpack’s favor.
“I didn’t like the end of the game, I tried to signal for a timeout that I didn’t think I was granted,” Keatts said after the game. “I thought when Mitchell tapped the basketball, he stepped out once and then he stepped out again and came back in. So, obviously I would love an explanation for those.”
N.C. State did have one last chance to force overtime but C.J. Bryce, one of three Wolfpack players with 15 points, had a contested 3-pointer from the corner fall short.
The Wolfpack (16-9, 7-7 ACC) finished 2 of 19 from the 3-point line and with 16 turnovers, six by Johnson.
“Boston College won the game,” Keatts said. “One possession doesn’t decide the game but I don’t like games that end in controversy.”
The Eagles (13-13, 7-8) have been prickly in league play this year. They got Notre Dame and Virginia here at Conte Forum and went on the road to knock off Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
But they were coming off of their worst ACC effort of the season, an 85-58 loss at Miami on Wednesday. There was an extra “verve” to the Eagles, as Thornton’s first ACC coach likes to say, out of the gate.
N.C. State meanwhile couldn’t hit the Charles River from a Duck Boat. It made only four of its first 20 shots while the Eagles were able to build a 28-16 lead at the 7-minute mark of the first half.
With Daniels (15) and Hellems (15) attacking the basket and finding a some loose change, N.C. State was able to overcome its 3-point shooting woes .
Daniels made a 3 with 3:44 left to tie it at 64. Johnson followed that up with a layup for a 66-64 lead with 3:12 left. But Thornton, who finished with a game-high 22 points, made a pair of free throws to tie it at 66. Mitchell made one of two free throws to give BC a 67-66 lead and the first of two late dunks by Hamilton, with 1:01 left, made it 69-66.
Hellems had a layup, after a Nik Popovic turnover, and then Thornton’s miss with 22 seconds set up the final sequence. Thornton made all 11 of his free throws to give the Eagles the final advantage.
And one
Daniels continued his recent trend of strong play with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He has averaged 16.2 points over the past five ACC games.
Lane violation
It doesn’t make it any less frustrating but there are some games when Johnson, even as a senior, disappears. This was one of them. He had four points and six assists in 17 minutes. Keatts went long stretches with Johnson on the bench.
“I’m not blaming anything on Markell,” Keatts said. “Look at our turnovers. Devon Daniels had a really good night and he had five. Markell had six. When you look at it, that’s our starting ‘1’ and ‘2.’ We have to protect the basketball.”
ICYMI
For all of the people who think bubble teams have to win out: St. John’s lost four of its final five regular-season games last season and still made the NCAA tournament (over N.C. State).
The upcoming home games with Duke (Wednesday) and Florida State (Saturday) — both “Quadrant 1” games — will play a larger role in N.C. State’s tournament fate than this loss.
Making sense of the numbers
4 N.C. State made four of its first 20 shots and fell behind by 12 points in the first 13 minutes.
12 Boston College (6 of 15) outscored N.C. State (2 of 19)
