Another tortuous loss
Game Summary:
There was never a point during the game at which most of the NC State fans thought they were going to win. And that is a sad situation, especially in a game in which you are favored.
In the first half the shooting was just terrible, unless you were a Cal fan. The Wolfpack missed 20 of 32 shots, including missing 7 of 8 3PT shots. The only bright spots were that the Pack was keeping up with the Bears on rebounds, only trailing by 1, 19-18, and that Wolfpack defense had held the Bear’s star, Stojakovic, to 2-9 shooting and only 4 points. Somehow, Cal only led 31-29 at the half.
In the second half we shot better, shooting 50% from the field. However, we still could not hit a 3PT shot, going 0-2 in the half including Breon Pass’ desperation attempt in the closing seconds. NC State did hold Cal to 3-10 from 3PT in the half, which allowed them to stay reasonably close. The Wolfpack took the lead 62-61 at the 1:20 mark on a Jayden Taylor free throw. The Bears got a layup at the 1:01 mark to lead 63-62. NC State called a timeout, and then worked the ball inside for a short jumper with 36 seconds left by Huntley-Hatfield which missed. O’Connell then fouled with 12 seconds left. The Bears hit both free throws to make it 65-62. With 9 seconds left, the Wolfpack called its last timeout. Breon Pass subbed in and got off a bad missed attempt at the buzzer. Final, Cal 65-NC State 62.
Overall Takeaways:
- Three losses in a row, all one possession games
- Fewest assists of any game this season
- Second fewest made 3PT shots (1) this season
- Cal is the second best offensive rebounding team in the ACC, they only out rebounded us on the offensive end 12-11.
- Stojakovic averages 19.5 ppg, the Pack held him to 10 points on 16 attempts
Keatts Comments
Individual Highlights
- Jayden Taylor led the scoring with 18
- Huntley-Hatfield, Taylor, and Hill led rebounding with 5
- Huntley-Hatfield had two blocks
- Jayden Taylor had two steals