Pack’s ‘junkyard dogs’ come up just short against Cardinals

N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts came striding out of the Wolfpack locker room Thursday, headed to his postgame interview, looking around and asking, “Anybody got a stat sheet?”

If was as if Keatts needed one more look at the numbers, one more glance to convince himself that the Pack did in fact have 23 turnovers Thursday, that Louisville did use them to score 37 points in an 84-77 victory at the KFC Yum! Center.

Keatts may have taken a second look at the free throw totals. Louisville had 29 foul shots, making 24. N.C. State had seven, making five.

While not liking either, it was the turnovers that hurt Keatts’ team most in a seven-point loss -- in what was a two-point game in the final minute of regulation. And Keatts already had gotten that point across to his team.

Asked the difference in a tough game, sophomore guard Braxton Beverly quickly replied, “Turnovers. We had too many turnovers as a team. They had, I think, 37 points off our turnovers. If you do that it’s going to be hard to win any game. We were lucky we were still in the game after doing that.”

In fairness, the No. 21 Pack (15-4, 3-3 ACC) was missing one of the ACC’s best point guards. The Pack is a different team with junior Markell Johnson in the lineup, with his elite quickness, his ACC experience of being in tough games.

“We put him through the shootaround today and I thought he was about 65 or 70 (percent),” Keatts said. “I’ve said all along that until I feel like he’s 95 to 100 he won’t play.”

Without Johnson in a third straight ACC road game, the Wolfpack had to try get by with grit and hustle, beating the No. 23 Cardinals on the boards, getting 15 offensive rebounds, pressuring, fighting for loose balls. Both team played man defenses and there was some mano a mano play.

“I told Kevin after the game, he’s got some dogs, some junkyard dogs that play hard from the very beginning to the end,” Louisville coach Chris Mack said. “I think we beat a really good team. When you beat a team like that you know you stepped up to the challenge, because he’s got some dogs.

“Those guys play extremely hard. They play very confidently. They offensive rebound despite their size. So you just tip your hat. I’m just glad it wasn’t our demise.”

Mack, who has revitalized the Louisville program in his first year as coach, was quick to note Johnson’s absence, saying the Pack was “down a man.”

“He’s probably the best on their team at getting to the lane, so we were fortunate to play an undermanned team,” Mack said. “And then Torin Dorn is a tornado getting to the rim, so that was a big challenge.”

Dorn had 14 points in the first half, attacking the basket, hitting six of 10 shots. But the Cardinals (14-5, 5-1) gave him little space in the second half, cutting off the lane, forcing him to take perimeter jumpers, as the senior missed six of seven shots from the field in closing with 18 points.

At times, it appeared some of the Wolfpack players were trying too hard to do too much -- Devon Daniels, for example. The sophomore guard had 15 points and one turnover, doing his part in the Pack’s 77-73 victory at Notre Dame. And some of his first-half numbers Thursday against Louisville -- 10 points, five rebounds -- were solid enough.

But Daniels had four turnovers, including an offensive foul to close the half. He did not score in the second half, committing two more turnovers. With Beverly, Dorn and C.J. Bryce each having four turnovers for the game it was too much for the Wolfpack to overcome.

“We had the opportunity to make some plays and we had the opportunity to hit some open guys,” Keatts said. “When we did, we were successful. I thought when we dribbled and we went one on one is where our turnovers came from.”

With Clemson coming to PNC Arena on Saturday, there will be little time to dwell or rehash this loss. There’s still a chance Johnson could be back.

“My main objective is our student-athlete’s safety,” Keatts said. “If he doesn’t feel good about it and the doctors don’t feel good about it, he won’t play. Hard for me to make that determination right now.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2019 at 1:24 AM with the headline "Pack’s ‘junkyard dogs’ come up just short against Cardinals."