NC State sits down SU 79-74
NC State sits down SU 79-74
Syracuse fell to NC State with a final score of 79-74 on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome due to some poor shooting and the absence of star player Elijah Hughes.
SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Hughes got hurt when the team was warming up. The redshirt junior forward tried to play, but came out after less than 3 minutes and remained on the bench for the rest of the game icing his groin. Boeheim said the team likely would not have an update until Saturday when SU travels to face Florida State.
“When you lose your best player — one of the three or four best players in the league — without being able to practice, it’s difficult,’’ Boeheim said. “But they did everything they could.’’
SU felt the absence of the ACC’s second-leading scorer, but Hughes’ teammates put up a fight in what was considered a battle between two bubble teams vying for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
In the first half, Joe Girard III scored 14 of his career-high 30 points, and Quincy Guerrier contributed with 16 points and 10 boards.
“Quincy’s not used to playing that many minutes,” Boeheim said. “But I thought he did a good job.”
The game was back and forth the entire night. With 8 minutes to go, Girard made two foul shots that pushed the momentum in Syracuse’s favor. NC State then committed a shot clock violation and Jesse Edwards blocked a shot. Marek Dolezaj went up strong underneath the basket and created an and-one opportunity to give Syracuse a 64-61 lead.
Still, NC State found a way to beat ‘Cuse by shooting the ball from behind the arc. They shot 45.5% from three-point range and were 12-for-23 (52.5%) from the floor.
Coach Boeheim gave credit to the Wolfpack, saying their players shot the ball well all night. The Orange also struggled to contain Devon Daniels, who finished with 23 points, and C.J. Bryce, who dropped 19 points.
With this loss, Syracuse falls to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in ACC play. Their next game will be at Florida State at Noon this Saturday.
