The 10th-seeded North Carolina State men’s basketball team crafted its own history in a city filled with it Saturday night, leaning on the inside-outside contributions of shifty guard DJ Horne and punishing forward DJ Burns Jr. to outlast top-seeded North Carolina, 84-76, in the ACC tournament championship game at Capital One Arena.
Horne finished with 29 points before fouling out, and Burns — the tournament MVP — added 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds as the Wolfpack became the first double-digit seed to win the ACC tournament title. N.C. State claimed its first conference championship since 1987, when it won at the since-demolished Capital Centre in Landover.
N.C. State (22-14) won a fifth game in as many days to claim the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and deny the Tar Heels a 19th ACC tournament championship despite the best efforts of point guard RJ Davis. The ACC player of the year led North Carolina (27-7) with 30 points and added five assists and six rebounds.
Advertisement
The Wolfpack used an 11-4 run to forge a 72-62 lead with 4:05 to play. Horne had six points during that decisive stretch, and the Tar Heels got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
“What an opportunity the guys in the locker room took advantage of,” N.C. State Coach Kevin Keatts said. “When we got on the plane to come to D.C., we talked about winning one game at a time and there would be a big-picture prize at the end of it. You could tell our guys were getting a lot stronger in every game that we played. It’s weird because we’re the team that played in every game, but it seemed like every second half we got a bit stronger than the other team.”
N.C. State trailed for only 64 seconds, taking the lead for good early in the second half on Burns’s layup backing down Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot. At 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, Burns proved too much for even Bacot, a 6-11 second-team all-ACC selection.
Advertisement
“We just couldn’t guard them tonight,” Tar Heels Coach Hubert Davis said. “What did they shoot, 54.9 percent? That’s just not going to get it done. In regards to us, we’ve been talking about it all year that its starts with defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball. First thing that I always mention is defense. Allowing any team to shoot 55 percent for a game, that’s just not going to work.”
North Carolina shot 37.5 percent, including just 8 of 30 (26.7 percent) on three-pointers. It went 3 of 18 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc in the second half.
A 5-0 run by N.C. State grew its lead to 61-53 with 8:57 to play. Horne, playing with four fouls, made the three-pointer that produced the margin, but Davis answered with a three-pointer and, following a turnover by the Wolfpack’s Michael O’Connell, drove into the lane to drain a floater that brought North Carolina within three.
Advertisement
Behind Horne’s aggressive moves to the basket, the Wolfpack claimed a 52-46 advantage with 15:32 to play, marking the first lead for either side in the second half by more than one possession. Horne made 5 of 6 free throws during a surge capped by a contested turnaround jumper from guard Casey Morsell (St. John’s College High School).
But Horne was assessed his fourth foul trying to get around a screen with 12:28 remaining in the second half, sending N.C. State’s leading scorer (16.5 points per game coming in) to the bench. The Wolfpack went to Burns, who delivered an acrobatic one-handed jumper with his back to the basket for a 56-50 lead.
The first three-pointer of Burns’s career, which came with the shot clock expiring, was the highlight of a frenetic first half. Burns scored or assisted on 11 of the Wolfpack’s 17 field goals in the half, either by backing down Bacot or passing to open teammates when North Carolina elected to double-team him.
Advertisement
N.C. State opened with energy that belied its rugged path to its first ACC championship game since 2007, racing to a double-figure lead behind precise execution on offense and relentless defensive pressure.
Davis brought the Tar Heels all the way back with 10 points during a 12-2 burst late in the first half. His two free throws gave North Carolina its first lead of the game, 30-28, with 4:50 left before intermission, and neither team was able to move in front by more than one possession the rest of the half.
correction
A previous version of this article incorrectly said N.C. State's last ACC championship game was in 2003. It was in 2007. The article has been corrected.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHySaGhvZ56YerTAwK2cZqafp8GpecKaqaikmaOubq3CnGStp6Wnu6K5xKerZpuYlrqxtc6nqqGhoGQ%3D