University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
4-4
NC State
9-2
Vols Battle, Fall At NC State, 83-72
December 17, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2014
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RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State connected on 11 3-pointers as the Wolfpack beat Tennessee, 83-72, on Wednesday night at PNC Arena. Senior Ralston Turner scored a career-high 33 points as he made eight 3-pointers for the Wolfpack (9-2).
Josh Richardson topped the Tennessee (4-4) scoring chart for the seventh time in eight games with 17 points (13 in the second half). Armani Moore had nine of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Kevin Punter also added 14 points. The Vols made 10-of-17 from 3-point land for 59 percent from beyond the arc.
Down 12 at halftime and 17 with 12 minutes left, the Vols rallied to cut their deficit to five (56-51) on back-to-back 3-pointers by Detrick Mostella and Derek Reese with 8:28 left in the game.
As they have done all season, the Vols continued to battle and scrap right until the end. Mostella's third second-half 3-pointer cut the deficit to 72-65 with 1:36 left in the game. Moore's 3-point play made it a 6-point game with 1:18 remaining. The Vols continued to send NC State to the foul line in the final minute and lost by 11.
The Vols have been a strong second-half team all season. Following Wednesday, they have led at halftime just once all season. Tennessee has outscored foes by 28 points in the second period including 45-44 at NC State.
Trevor Lacey, who faced the Vols four times while playing at Alabama added 20 points for the Wolfpack and made three of NC State's 11 treys.
NC State improved to 8-0 at PNC Arena and recovered from a 55-54 loss to Wofford on Sunday.
The first half was tight for the first 16 minutes with neither team leading by more than two possessions until late. NC State took control late with an 9-0 spurt to end the half and led 39-27 at intermission. Tennessee was held scoreless for the final 4:13 of the first half.
Turner knocked down five first-half 3-pointers for 17 points. Punter was Tennessee's top scorer in the first half with 10.
Both teams were hot from 3-point range early on the game. The Vols made their first four 3-point attempts while NC State connected on six 3-pointers early on to take a 24-20 on Turner's fifth trey of the first half with 7:40 left in the half.
Tennessee returns home for its next four games starting Friday night. The Vols host Tennessee Tech on Friday at 7 p.m. (on Fox Sports Net), Mercer on Monday, Tennessee State on Dec. 27 and ETSU on Dec. 31. The last three games air on SEC Network. All of the games can be heard on the Vol Network.
