LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Anthony “Cat” Barber scored 21 points, hitting 10 of 13 free throws, to help N.C. State defeat No. 9 Louisville, 74-65, on Saturday.
The Wolfpack held Louisville to 33 percent shooting and dominated near the basket, outscoring the Cardinals 32-16 in the paint, to earn their second win against a top 10 conference opponent. N.C. State beat Duke on Jan. 11 and had lost six of eight since before today’s win.
Trevor Lacey had 14 points and Ralston Turner scored 10 for N.C. State (15-11, 6-7 ACC).
Chris Jones scored 20 points and Wayne Blackshear added 19 for Louisville (20-5, 8-4 ACC).
Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell, Louisville’s leading scorers, combined for just 13 points after scoring a total of 50 in Wednesday’s 69-56 win against Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals fell to 78-2 in the last three years when leading at halftime. Louisville led 31-30 at the break.
N.C. State outrebounded Louisville 47-37 with Caleb Martin and Beejay Anya each grabbing 10. Harrell had 13 rebounds but was scoreless in the first half and finished with seven points.
Rozier, the ACC’s leading scorer at 18.5 points a game, finished with a season-low seven points and fouled out with 4:56 to play.
Harrell’s hook shot with 14:10 remaining gave Louisville a 43-41 lead before Kyle Washington responded. Lacey’s 3-pointer with 13:27 put N.C. State up for good at 46-43.
Jones’ steal and layup on the other end pulled Louisville to within 57-52 with 7:06 to play before the Cardinals missed nine consecutive field goals and lost Rozier to fouls during a five-minute stretch late in the second half.
The Wolfpack led 63-53 at the 4:11 mark and had just five turnovers before committing three in 39 seconds to keep Louisville hopes alive.
Blackshear’s jumper with 1:20 left cut the lead to 65-61. Barber found Anya for a dunk on the next possession and hit seven of eight free throws attempts in the last minute.
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