RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State sank three free throws in the final two seconds of regulation to escape with a 77-74 win over Colgate on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.
 
The Raiders trailed 74-71 when Tucker Richardson buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 11 seconds showing on the clock. Richardson raced back to the defensive end while pointing to his bench as the team erupted with the game tied at 74-74.
 
NC State drove down the court and Dereon Seabron with time ticking went up for the go-ahead buzzer beater. Keegan Records and Nelly Cummings both got a piece of the shot and blocked it off the glass, but a shooting foul sent Seabron to the line and he sank both free throws with two seconds left.
 
After a desperation inbound heave deflected out of bounds, the Raiders quickly fouled and NC State's Ebenezer Dowuona hit one last free throw. Colgate's ensuing full-court shot at the buzzer came up short and the Wolfpack survived 77-74. 
 
Both teams traded blows in a back-and-forth heavyweight battle. There were 12 lead changes in the game and each team led in the final minute of regulation.
 
Cummings paced four Raiders in double figures with 19 points on six field goals and five 3-pointers. Jeff Woodward was a force, finishing with 14 points to go with three assists and a blocked shot. Jack Ferguson and Oliver Lynch-Daniels had 13 and 11, respectively.
 
Colgate shot 46% from the field and connected on 12 3-pointers with 18 assists on 25 made field goals. NC State nearly shot 50% from the floor but finished just 27% from behind the arc.
 
NC State led by as many as eight (47-39) in the second half but the Raiders roared back and took their first lead of the game 50-49 on a driving layup by Woodward seven minutes in. Huge shots from Cummings and Richardson set the stage for the wild finish.
 
Woodward scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half to go with three 3-pointers from Cummings. Ferguson had some key shots down the stretch, but none were bigger than Richardson's game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds left.
 
The upset bid was not to be, as the final free throws sealed it for NC State, 77-74.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel
 
"A lot of mixed feelings. It's great for our guys to get back into this type of environment. For the most part we made a lot of plays on both ends of the court today, but at the end of the day we are disappointed. Losing never feels good. We have a very good team, and very good teams find ways to win. We didn't get that done today, but we will learn from this.
 
"This group is a championship team. A lot of teams are trying to figure out who they're going to be; this group is very comfortable with who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. Today we played great for long stretches and that's why it was a close game against a quality ACC team. I hope what we learn from this is that we have to do a few little things better throughout the course of the game to get a little more separation – whether it's at the beginning or the end of the game – to get the result we want."
 
UP NEXT
Colgate and Cornell renew their in-state rivalry next Tuesday, Nov. 16, with tip-off from Ithaca set for 7 p.m. ESPN+ is carrying the livestream.