N.C. State has won its share of close games this season, but the No. 23 Wolfpack could not pull out another one Tuesday at Syracuse.
The Orange held on for a 75-72 victory at the JMA Wireless Dome, getting 18 points and 16 rebounds from Jesse Edwards and 20 points from Judah Mintz for a third straight win.
Wolfpack guard Jarkel Joiner had a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He became the fourth men’s player in school history to record that feat.
The Wolfpack, trailing 73-72, had possession with less than a minute remaining in the second half. But center D.J. Burns was called for an offensive foul as he made a move to the basket — Burns’ fifth of the game.
Mintz then was fouled on a drive with 24.4 seconds left and made both free throws for a three-point lead for the Orange (16-10, 9-6 ACC). Joiner missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.
The Wolfpack (20-7, 10-6), after a 30-point road win Saturday at Boston College, had its troubles at times against the Syracuse zone.
In addition to Joiner, Burns and Jack Clark each had 15 points for the the Pack and Terquavion Smith scored 12 of his 14 in the second half.
Clark, in his second game back from a groin injury, played 31 minutes and had nine boards.
Smith struggled throughout the first half and ended the half with more fouls (3) than point (2). But he kept his poise and started finding the range in the second half, tying the score 63-63 with a 3-pointer — his third of the half — with 5:11 to play.
Another 3 by Smith made it a 68-65 lead for the Pack, but the Orange surged ahead as Mintz hit a 3-pointer after a loose-ball fight that Syracuse’s Edwards won to prevent a turnover.
On one play, Syracuse missed a shot but kept the possession alive by tipping the ball around, then having Edwards hit a 3-pointer just before the shot-clock buzzer. With 9:07 left, the Orange led 59-54.
The Pack used different approaches in attacking the Orange zone. Burns was used inside the foul line, then Joiner and Clark.
But the Wolfpack’s shooting was spotty. Early in the second half, both Smith and Joiner had 3-point airballs on a possession, although Jack Clark did have a putback after the Joiner miss.
Burns picked up his fourth foul with more than 13 minutes left in regulation, leaving the game, but Smith was giving the Pack some offensive help by then, hitting two 3-pointers — the ball glancing off the side of the backboard on the second.
Smith had a miserable first half. He missed seven of his eight shots, several forced, and all four of his 3-point attempts.
After hitting 15 of 30 of its 3-point shots against Boston College, the Pack was 4-of-17 from the arc in the first half and shot 38% overall from the field.
Smith was left in the game with two personal fouls, a rarity for NCSU coach Kevin Keatts, then picked up his third with 1:47 left in the first half.
The Pack, even with Smith struggling, handled the Orange zone well in the first 10 minutes of the game, using an 11-0 run to take a 19-10 lead.
Smith ended the spurt with his first basket of the game – a left-handed dunk on the break after a Syracuse turnover.
But after an inside score by Burns with 7:36 left in the first half, making it 21-12, the Orange made a push with a 9-0 run.
The Orange, which had 12 fast-break points in the opening half, moved ahead 25-24 on a dunk by Chris Bell and did not trail the rest of the period.
