Men’s college basketball: NC State rallies after Keatts ejected
Published 4:55 am Wednesday, January 17, 2024
- North Carolina State's Jayden Taylor celebrates with Kam Woods and DJ Horne late inthe second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (Kaitlin McKeown/The News & Observer via AP)
RALEIGH — DJ Horne scored 21 points and North Carolina State rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Wake Forest 83-76 on Tuesday night after Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts was ejected.
N.C. State made six free throws and Horne followed with a jumper during an 8-0 spurt that gave the Wolfpack a 73-69 lead with 1:50 remaining. Andrew Carr’s three-point play pulled Wake Forest to 73-72, but Ben Middlebrooks answered with a layup and the Wolfpack shot 8 of 9 from the free-throw line to seal it.
N.C. State (13-4) is 5-1 in the ACC for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
Keatts was ejected in the first half — his second of the season. Keatts went to midcourt to argue the no-call with the referee and was given a technical foul at the 3:32 mark. Seconds later he was called for a second technical and ejected.
Middlebrooks and Mohamed Diarra, who finished with 13 rebounds to go with eight points, also drew technical fouls for N.C. State. Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis also received a technical.
The Wolfpack attempted 33 free throws, making 25, while the Demon Deacons finished 22 of 28 at the line.
Horne was 9-of-19 shooting from the floor. Middlebrooks made all five of his field goals and all four free throws for 14 points. Jayden Taylor added 12 points and DJ Burns Jr. had 10 for N.C. State, which shot 54% (29 of 54) yet missed all eight 3-point attempts.
Carr scored 19 of his career-high 28 points in the first half to lead for Wake Forest (12-5, 4-2), which shot 54% from the floor in the first half but cooled to 33% in the second. Carr was 10-of-13 shooting with three 3-pointers. Kevin Miller added 21 points, shooting just 3 of 12 from the field but 15 of 15 from the line.
Sallis, who finished with 12 points, scored five straight points to push the Demon Deacons’ advantage to 60-49 about midway through the second half.
Five scored for N.C. State during a 12-2 run that cut the deficit to 62-61 with 5:39 remaining. Carr then scored five points in a 7-4 spurt that stretched the lead to 69-65 with 3:46 left before the Wolfpack pulled away.
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Each team has home games on Saturday. Wake Forest plays Louisville while N.C. State faces Virginia Tech.
