RALEIGH, N.C. _ N.C. State's first game since it fired Mark Gottfried ended just like the previous six ACC games.
No. 25 Notre Dame got 27 points from senior wing V.J. Beachem to hand the Wolfpack its seventh straight loss, 81-72 on Saturday afternoon.
N.C. State (14-14, 3-12 ACC) fell behind by 23 points about 6 minutes into the second half, but unlike the other games, mostly lopsided losses, the Wolfpack didn't just go away.
With 16 points from freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr., the Wolfpack got as close as seven points in the final 2 minutes. The Fighting Irish (21-7, 10-5) just had too many answers.
Beachem made a career-best seven 3-pointers and finished 10-of-16 from the floor. Junior forward Bonzie Colson added 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Markell Johnson's layup made it 75-68 with 1:23 left, but the Irish, the best free-throw shooting team in the country, salted the game away at the line.
