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NC State Holds Off Oakland 79-73 in OT to Reach Sweet 16

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PITTSBURGH – An instant classic took place at PPG Paints Arena Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

It’s not uncommon to see a matchup of double-digit seeds once a tournament. Sometimes those matchups fall under the radar. Not this one.

In a battle between No. 11 seed NC State (ACC) and No. 14 seed Oakland (Horizon League), the Wolfpack prevailed victorious in overtime.

NC State outscored the Golden Grizzlies 13-7 in overtime to defeat the lowest seed to advance to the second round, 79-73. If it wasn’t for winning the ACC Tournament, NC State wouldn’t have made it to March Madness. Now, the dance lives on another week.

Breakout star and key reserve Jack Gohlke subbed in for Oakland with 16:48 remaining in the first half. Gohlke, off one dribble, drained his first three of the game soon after as the crowd came alive, but NC State was up 9-7 with 13:59 to go in the first half. DJ Horne heated up early for NC State, scoring the Wolfpack’s first seven points. 

The offense continued halfway through the first 20 minutes. Oakland converted five of its next six shots, including back-to-back threes by Blake Lampman, going into a timeout on the floor with nine and a half minutes left. NC State, on the other hand, made four shots in a row to build a 22-15 lead. At the stoppage of play, the Wolfpack were shooting 56% on 16 shots.

Horizon League Player of the Year Trey Townsend scored close to the basket out of the timeout, but ACC Tournament MVP DJ Burns responded with a hook shot and made his first three field goals. NC State maintained a 26-22 lead with just over six minutes left in the first half. 

Burns isn’t the best defender and also only averages four rebounds per game. But he’s been a force offensively so far and made all three of his first goals.

Oakland consistently played zone for almost all of the first half. Greg Kampe deployed a 2-3 zone and 1-3-1 to combat Burns’ presence inside and allowed the Wolfpack to take open threes. 

Rocket Watts scored off the dribble for Oakland before the buzzer to cut the deficit to three as NC State took a 32-29 lead to the locker room. Oakland never led in the first 20 minutes. Jack Gohlke scored nine points on 3-6 shooting to pace Oakland. Burns has eight points for NC State as the Wolfpack shot 41% in the first half. Despite an explosive start, Horne remained with seven points at the break on seven shots.

The Wolfpack only made three triples on 11 attempts. One oddity took place at the free-throw line. Rather, it didn’t, due in part to Ben Middlebrooks being the only one to get there. Only two free throws were attempted on either side in the first half. Middlebrooks made 1 of 2. A heavy three-point shooting team, Oakland checked in 5-15 from deep, with Gholke (three) and Lampman (two) the contributors. Townsend played the entire half (3-9 shooting) and grabbed three boards as Oakland shot 39%.

With the lead down to two, NC State answered back and pushed the lead, but Oakland kept fighting. Trey Townsend scored six straight points for Oakland to keep it close. NC State keeps pushing the tempo and scoring in transition. Casey Morsell drained his first three in the corner to pad the Wolfpack lead. NC State was ahead 41-36 at the first media timeout of the second half as Mohamed Diarra picked up his fourth foul. 

A steal from Lampman created a three from Jack Gohlke to make it a two-point game again. Gohlke signaled and yelled to Lampman “pow” after knocking down the open triple. NC State remained ahead, 42-40, with 13 minutes remaining. The Wolfpack did well answering back to the Golden Grizzlies’ bursts of energy and created stops defensively when the pro-Oakland crowd came to its feet. 

Tied at 45, Burns was triple teamed on the left side block and made a great pass to Morsell for an open three. Michael O’Connell followed with a long-ranged shot of his own as NC State created a 6-0 run. 

Back-to-back threes from NC State were answered by a Trey Townsend three. Then, Burns converted ANOTHER floater high off the glass, continuing to display a great shooting touch for a big man. NC State remained in the lead (53-50) with 7:35 left.

A minute later, Gohlke splashed in a triple off the dribble and converted on a four-point play at the free-throw line to put him at 16 points. Townsend continued to impress. With 5:20 remaining and Oakland down 56-54, Townsend totaled 21 points with 15 in the second half.

Gohlke hit ANOTHER three to put Oakland a score away from the lead, 61-60. On the next possession, the Golden Grizzlies grabbed it. Having one of the best games of his career, Trey Townsend converted on a righty layup. He was fouled. Townsend made the free throw. Oakland led 63-61. 

Free throws were missed on both sides as Oakland led 64-63 with 1:17 left, and NC State called time with the basketball. The Wolfpack hadn’t scored in four minutes until O’Connell drove to the basket and converted on a three-point play to put NC State ahead 66-64 with one minute left. 

Gohlke was fouled on the floor in the bonus with 41.5 left and drained two free throws to tie it at 66. 

Oakland got a stop and had a chance to win it in the final possession but turned it over with 1.7 left. NC State threw up a prayer that was close to being answered but fell short to force five minutes of overtime. 

Townsend made 1 of 2 free throws, and Burns later answered with a layup to give NC State a 68-67 advantage. Diarra fouled out minutes after Ben Middlebrooks did, with Townsend going back to the line. This time he made them both. Oakland led 69-68. Burns again cleaned up the glass after a missed three for a layup and a 70-69 advantage. 

DJ Horne made his first shot since early in the first half with 1:33 to go in overtime. Jayden Taylor made a triple in the corner after Burns was double-teamed and kicked out to an open shooter. NC State led 75-70 and never looked back. 

All five starters finished in double figures, led by who else by DJ Burns with a double-double at 24 points and 11 rebounds. He also dished out four assists. O’Connell scored 12, including clutch baskets down the stretch, and Horne finished with 11. 

Townsend finished the night with 30 points, a game-high, and 11 rebounds. He played the entire game. Golhke scored 22 on six made threes in his final college basketball game.

NC State moves on to play the winner of Colorado and NC State in the Sweet 16. It’s the first time the Wolfpack have advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2015.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker

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