Jayden Taylor helped North Carolina State to a strong start and finished with 19 points as the Wolfpack ended a nine-game losing streak by defeating visiting Boston College 70-62 on Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 11 points off the bench for NC State (10-15, 3-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) as the Wolfpack led by a double-figure margin for most of the second half.
Donald Hand Jr. racked up 22 points for Boston College (10-15, 2-12), which has dropped four games in a row. Chad Venning had 14 points and Chas Kelley III notched 10 points for the Eagles, who were charged with 16 turnovers.
Both teams are in danger of missing the ACC Tournament as the bottom three teams out of the 18 total won’t qualify for next month’s event, so the outcome of this game loomed large in the only meeting of the season. NC State is the reigning tournament champion.
Taylor connected on two 3-point baskets, but the Wolfpack shot just 5-for-23 from beyond the arc. NC State sputtered on offense for most of the second half, but the defense was up to the task as it worked with a comfortable margin.
Boston College was 5-for-18 on 3-pointers but made up for some of that by going 23 of 27 at the free-throw line.
Taylor had 11 points as the Wolfpack broke out to a 13-2 lead.
Boston College committed 14 first-half turnovers, marking two more than its season average for a game. The Wolfpack collected nine assists in the first half and led by 16 points before settling for a 44-29 halftime lead.
NC State won for just the second time since December. All three of the Wolfpack’s ACC victories have come at home, with one of those coming in overtime and the other by one point.
–Field Level Media
