DJ Horne scored 19 points and 11th-seeded North Carolina State continued its stunning run with a 67-58 victory over second-seeded Marquette on Friday night in South Region play in Dallas to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Casey Morsell added 15 points and Mohamed Diarra had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Wolfpack (25-14) reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986. NC State has won eight straight games following a four-game losing streak to end the regular season.
Kam Jones scored 20 points and Tyler Kolek added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (27-10), who shot just 33.3 percent from the field and were a measly 4 of 31 (12.9 percent) from 3-point range.
NC State will face either No. 1 Houston or No. 4 Duke in Sunday’s regional final.
The Wolfpack led by 16 early in the second half before Marquette chopped 10 points off its deficit.
A basket by Morsell put NC State ahead by eight with 2:21 remaining, and Michael O’Connell followed with a 3-pointer with 1:35 left to give the Wolfpack a 63-52 lead.
After Marquette moved within seven, Diarra and Horne each made two free throws to make it 67-56 with 29.4 seconds left as NC State closed it out.
North Carolina State shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Wolfpack held a 42-35 rebounding advantage and led for nearly 36 minutes of the game.
A putback by Diarra gave NC State a 53-38 lead with 9:30 left.
Marquette then began a 14-5 run that was helped by the Wolfpack going 4:01 without a point. First, the Golden Eagles rattled off seven straight points. A three-point play by Oso Ighodaro pulled Marquette within 53-45 with 7:26 to play.
Diarra’s basket ended the Wolfpack’s drought and made it a 10-point margin.
The Golden Eagles made another charge and moved within 58-52 on a three-point play by Jones with 3:39 left.
NC State held a 37-24 at the break. Kolek scored 14 in the first half for Marquette.
The Wolfpack used an early 18-5 run to open up a 20-10 lead with 12:59 left in the half. Horne had all nine of his first-half points during the stretch, including a 3-pointer and a four-point play in a span of 67 seconds.
–Field Level Media