NC State basketball outlasts Oakland in OT as Wolfpack’s charmed March continues

There are so many factors that go into winning an NCAA Tournament game.

It’s adjusting to an opponent you have not played. It’s often adjusting to different officials. As much as anything, it’s adjusting to the pressure that builds each round, that builds within the games.

The teams that can handle it, that are tough enough to handle it, move on, keep playing. Those who don’t, go home; shake hands with the winning team and go home. It’s that simple.

It’s the brutal reality of a one-loss-and-done kind of tournament and N.C. State was on the winning end Saturday in the second round of the South Region at PPG Paints Arena, earning a 79-73 overtime victory over Oakland.

The Wolfpack (24-14), the No. 11 seed, advances to the Sweet 16 in Dallas next week, following up its ACC championship with two more NCAA victories, which are always precious.

A Jayden Taylor 3-pointer late in overtime might have been the Pack’s biggest basket of the game. D.J. Horne, who had a relatively quiet game, hit two free throws with 31 seconds left in the OT for a seven-point lead and D.J. Burns another two for a 79-70 lead.

Burns, the big man turning in another big game, had 24 points for the Pack, offsetting a 30-point game by Oakland’s Trey Townsend,

The final minute of regulation was as tense as it was suspenseful.

With the shot clock running out, Wolfpack guard Michael O’Connell drove to the basket for a twisting layup and a foul with 55.6 seconds left. His 3-point play gave the Pack a 66-64 lead.

The Golden Grizzlies’ Jack Gohlke hit a pair at the line with 41.5 seconds left for a 66-66 tie.

After a Wolfpack timeout, D.J. Burns missed inside with 18 seconds showing and Oakland used a time to set up its possession. But it turned the ball over and after an officials review, the Pack’s Casey Morsell got off a long heave that hit the backboard and rim.

Trey Townsend, the Horizon League player of the year, was the near-total focus of the Oakland offense in the second half and he delivered. The 6-6 senior, going to work inside against Mo Diarra or Ben Middlebrooks but also stepping outside to hit a few jumpers.

It was a Townsend 3-pointer from the left wing over Diarra with 4:29 left in regulation that pulled the Grizzlies within 59-57. His three-point play with 2:49 remaining gave Oakland a 63-61 lead — its first of the game.

Gohlke was a constant 3-point threat, just as he was in the shocker over Kentucky in the opening round. He didn’t completely go off, as he did in draining 10 of his 3s and scoring 32 points against the Wildcats. But the threat was there.

Gohlke had a 4-point play in the second half, drawing a foul from O’Connell as he made a 3 from the wing. He finished with 22 points, going 6-of-17 on 3’s.

The Golden Grizzlies had to play a catchup game against the Pack, who led throughout the first half and first seven minutes of the second.

A 3-pointer by Hohlke, then a putback basket by Townsend, pulled Oakland into a 42-42 tie with 12:49 left in regulation, A 3 by Chris Conway later tied it a 45-45.

Morsell answered with 3 for the Pack, then O’Connell drained another. It became punch/counterpunch, with neither team backing down or away.

The Pack got the start it wanted, getting out to an early 9-2 lead and staying in front the rest of the first half for a 32-29 edge.

Gohlke again was an instant energy producer for the Grizzlies. He’s not a starter but makes things happen once in the game and did again Saturday, knocking down his first 3.

The Pack did what it could to make it hard on the sniper of a guard, rotating defenders – Casey Morsell, O’Connell, Jayden Taylor – on him to give him different looks.

After igniting for seven 3’s in the first half of the Kentucky game on his way to a 32-point game, Gohlke was 3-for-6 on 3’s in the opening half Saturday. But each one appeared to be a bolt of adrenaline, for his team and a sizable contingent of Oakland fans at PPG Paints Arena.

The game strategy was set early by Oakland: use a lot of the shot clock when it had the ball and make the Pack use a lot against the zone when it didn’t.

The Wolfpack allowed just two offensive rebounds in the opening half, making for a lot of one-shot possessions for the Grizzlies. But Oakland made the Pack work relentlessly on defense, taking some strength out of the Wolfpack’s legs.

The Pack missed seven straight shots and nine of 10 at one point late in the first half, grabbing some offensive boards but not getting second-chance points out of them.

While both teams missed a lot of shots, a credit to the defensive intensity shown, and play was sloppy at ti