As the shot clock ran down and a seven-footer running his way, Cam Hayes banked in a long three pointer.
It was desperation shots like that, shots that fell, a sure sign that little could go wrong for N.C. State. The Wolfpack may have a chance to salvage their season and next month they might look back at their 68-61 win over No. 15 Virginia as the turning point.
N.C. State won its fourth straight ACC game on the road, something they haven’t done since the 1973-74 season, and are trending in the right direction at the right time. It was their second straight win at UVA (15-6, 11-4) and just their second win in John Paul Jones Arena in 10 attempts.
N.C. State has now gone on the road and came away with wins at Boston College, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and UVA.
The Wolfpack only trailed for 88 seconds, basically controlling the game from the start. N.C. State led by as many as 14 in the first half and were up by double digits midway through the second half after a dunk by D.J. Funderburk.
Funderburk led the team in scoring with 14 points, one of three players in double figures for the Pack (11-9, 7-8). Kevin Keatts has led the Wolfpack to 16 ACC road wins during his tenure in Raleigh. UVA was the fourth ranked team N.C. State faced this season and their second win.
Each player who saw action for the Pack scored and the Pack’s defense bottled up the UVA duo of Jay Huff and Sam Hauser in the first half. They got it going in the second half, put N.C. State did just enough to shut down the rest of Virginia’s roster to secure the win. Huff and Hauser combined for 37 UVA points, but two players weren’t going to be enough to beat the Pack, who made their last 13 straight from the foul line.
N.C. State dodged a bullet late, turning the ball over to UVA with 15.4 left and a four-point lead. But Hauser missed a three from the top of the key with 8.6 remaining. Dereon Seabron hit one from the stripe to make it a five-point advantage. Kihei Clark turned the ball over back to State with 1.6 left, securing the Wolfpack win.
