Dysfunction Down the Stretch Costs Wolfpack in Latest Loss

RALEIGH — Sloppy. Disjointed. Dysfunctional. Those are just a few words that sum up what NC State men's basketball looked like throughout Saturday's 78-74 loss to Georgia Tech. The team's lack of consistency is one issue, but a lack of energy and urgency stuck out more in the shocking defeat, especially down the stretch.

While the season is far from over for the Wolfpack (12-6, 3-2 ACC), the way the team crumbled down the stretch of the defeat showed just how problematic some of the team's issues can be when they show up at inopportune times. Head coach Will Wade faces the difficult task of steadying a Pack that has drifted off course far too many times this season.

What went wrong against Georgia Tech?

Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Lamar Washington (1) reacts to a win after the second half of the game against the NC State Wolfpack at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland sat at the podium in the media room tucked in the corner of the Lenovo Center just minutes removed from the disappointing loss. His head stayed down through most of the questions, with Ven-Allen Lubin answering the majority of them. When asked about the issues the team faced down the stretch, Copeland expressed his frustration.

"Just missing shots... They played harder than us and it showed," he said. "We couldn't match their energy since the beginning of the game, so we tried to come out with fake energy and they outpowered us. Simple as that."

At halftime, the Wolfpack led Georgia Tech by a point. After stretching the lead to eight, the Pack took its foot off the gas pedal, allowing a hungry Yellow Jacket team to claw its way back in. Eventually, that momentum, something that NC State has lacked for most of the 2025-26 season, pushed Georgia Tech in front. Suddenly playing from behind, the home searched for answers.

None came. The Wolfpack clanked shot after shot, ultimately shooting 11-of-31 in the second half. The team missed eight free throws down in the final 20 minutes, an issue diminished slightly by the fact that Georgia Tech shot 50% from the charity stripe in the game, but still a potentially fatal blow. NC State scored just 10 paint points in the second half, as many of the group's 11 missed layups came in the final stretch.

Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) interacts with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Lamar Washington (1) during the second half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

"We struggled rebounding. We also struggled finishing. We missed a ton of layups at the rim," Wade said. "Their length had something to do with that... Just in the second half, we missed basically five point-blank layups... We had to exert a lot of energy to get the ball into the paint."

NC State had good looks at the basket in the waning minutes of the game. Sharpshooter Paul McNeil tried to cut the Georgia Tech lead to one a handful of times but couldn't. Defensively, the Wolfpack had no answer for Yellow Jacket forward Kowacie Reeves, who scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. He buried a 3-pointer with just over two minutes left to push the lead to eight points, sinking any hopes of a Wolfpack comeback.

Kowacie Reeves with the HUGE triple to extend @GTMBB's lead. pic.twitter.com/XPDa4a6M1k
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) January 17, 2026

After the victory, Stoudamire praised his team's willingness to take on the challenge of facing NC State. His group overcame costly turnover after costly turnover, clamping down on the perimeter as the clock wound down. The Yellow Jackets took what the defense gave them. Against the Wolfpack, that can be an easy task at times. A straight-line drive to the basket followed by a layup from Lamar Washington against McNeil ultimately ended the game, as it pushed Georgia Tech's lead to seven.

NC State's scorers pressed down the stretch, forcing bad shots in moments where patience might've been more prudent. Copeland shot the ball 17 times, making just six of those attempts. In games where the veteran guard shoots 10 or more times, the Wolfpack is just 1-5. A struggling Darrion Williams contributed to the higher usage for Copeland, but that stat tends to be an indicator of losses for the Pack.

The Wolfpack looked like the soul-searching phase of the season was completed on the road. The first lower Quadrant loss of the season changes things. Now, that process needs to start over and the team must find a way to close out games like Saturday's if it wants to turn things around.

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