Keatts: 'Our Team Turned The Ball Over Too Many Times'
It was a bad night in Boston for the NC State basketball team Sunday.
Needing a win to keep from adding another blemish to an increasingly flawed postseason resume, the Wolfpack came up small -- falling behind by double digits early by shooting poorly, defending poorly and turning the ball over too many times against Boston College.
Although State rallied in the second half and actually took the lead briefly with just over three minutes remaining, it couldn't finish the job on the way to a 71-68 loss marred by a controversial play at the end.
Whether the Eagles Steffon Mitchell stepped out of bounds with the ball or touched it illegally after coming back in bounds doesn't really matter at this point. The spurttering start and the Wolfpack's lack of execution on its final possession suggest that it got the result that it deserved on a night it really needed to win.
Here's what coach Kevin Keatts said about the final sequence and the game itself in a postgame interview with Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes of the Wolfpack Sports Network:
"I thought our team turned the ball over too many times. I didn't like the fact that we had 19 turnovers versus Syracuse and then 16 tonight.
"I'm very disappointed at the end of the game. When we were scrimmaging on the floor, Jericole (Hellems) was hollering timeout. I was yelling timeout. I even signaled timeout. But it was never granted and that's disappointing because it gives us another opportunity.
"And then I haven't seen the play with (Steffon) Mitchell, but I thought he stepped out of bounds and came back in bounds. And that's though, because it takes you out of the opportunity to win the game. That one play didn't lose the game, but opportunities at the end, that's what it's about."
Keatts was asked what changed during the Wolfpack's second half comeback;
"Well, we just played hard. Our effort was always there. We didn't have it offensively in the first half. We found it. We had guys in foul trouble and we never really got into a rhythm in the first half. Second half we got into a rhythm and our guys started playing well. I love our guys. I thought we fought. I just would love to make sure that at the end of the game, we get a chance to win the game on the floor. That's the toughest thing about it."
Markell Johnson played a season-low 17 minutes, only partiallly because of foul trouble, finishing with just four points and three assists. Keatts explained why arguably his most important player was on the bench so long:
"I thought he played, but he got into foul trouble. He had four fouls and obviously we were trying to get some other guys to be able to come in and play. I thought the guys on the floor were playing well. It wasn't as much about what Markell wasn't doing, it's what the other guys were doing."
What did Keatts tell the team at halftime after such a flat first 20 minutes?
"Well, just play better. I thought we played on our heels in the first half and offensively we weren't clicking. Then I didn't think we were playing great on the defensive end. We didn't have many stops. At halftime they were shooting 55 percent almost. Then in the second half we clamped down and we defended the way we we've been defending in the last few games. Obviously we made a game out of it, but we dug ourself a hole just because we kept turning the basketball over."
Finally, Keatts was asked about the play of Jericole Hellems, who was one of three Wolfpack players with 15 points, and of Manny Bates, who made all four of his field goal attempts while finishing with eight points, six rebounds and three blocks:
I thought (Hellems) was fine. I thought he got after it. We have to find ways to win when some of your better offensive players don't play well. I thought he was one of the bright spots. I thought he made some great shots and did some good things for us.
"I thought Manny was good. I thought Manny was one of the reasons that we sparked the comeback. He did a great job of protecting the rim, he did a great job around the basket and he rebounded the basketball. He's had a couple games like that where he's getting better. We hope he continues to get better in those areas."
