Uncasville, CT – NC State’s final run was not enough as Oklahoma State made enough free throws down the stretch to win, 72-66, Wednesday night at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Mohegan Sun Arena.
NC State trailed by 14 points with 10 minutes to go in the game and still trailed by nine points with 1:16 to play, but a 9-2 run over the next 43 seconds got the Pack within 2, 68-66, with 33 seconds to play.
Oklahoma State made all six of its free throw attempts down the stretch and NC State could not score another field goal.
With the loss, NC State falls to 3-1 while Oklahoma State moves to 4-1 with the win.
Redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron continued his impressive start to the season as he registered his third double-double in four games. The Norfolk, Va., native scored a team-high 19 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds. It was the first game this season that Seabron did not reset his career-high for scoring after scoring 18, 21 and 24 points consecutively in the first three games of the season.
Senior Jericole Hellems added 18 points on a perfect 10-of-10 free throw shooting.
Sophomore Cam Hayes had a season-high 16 points and fellow sophomore Ebenezer Dowuona grabbed a career-best three steals.
The Pack scored 43 points in the second half on just eight made field goals as NC State shot 24-of-26 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes and 29-of-35 from the charity stripe for the game.
Oklahoma State finished the game with a 56-5 advantage in points off the bench and a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint.
NC State got off to a strong start, scoring the first seven points of the game and extending the lead to as large as nine points, 19-10, with 9:12 left in the opening half.
Foul trouble forced the Pack to reach deep into their bench in the final minutes of the half and the Cowboys used a 12-0 run to take a 31-25 lead into the break.
NC State is back home on Sunday when it faces reigning SWAC Champion Texas Southern at PNC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised on RSN.