NEW YORK — N.C. State never trailed the nation’s No. 1-ranked team until overtime.
And there, seven misses led to an 82-72 loss to Purdue. Trevion Williams had a season-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a career-best nine assists Sunday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational.
Jaden Ivey added 22 points for the Boilermakers (9-1), who had to rally from 13 down midway through the second half to win this one. Purdue took its first lead on Sasha Stefanovic’s 3-pointer 15 seconds into the extra period.
“You’re not pleased with the position that you’re in,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said, “but you’re pleased about being able to dig yourself out of a hole.”
Stefanovic also hit a driving layup with 21.5 seconds left to force the overtime, ultimately helping Purdue bounce back from a last-second loss at Rutgers in the program’s first-ever week atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
Terquavion Smith, a freshman from Greenville who played at Farmville Central High, scored a season-high 21 points for the Wolfpack (7-3), who had a prime chance to earn the program’s first win against a top-ranked opponent in nearly nine years.
Dereon Seabron added 18 points, including a driving basket over Williams that pushed N.C. State to a 66-64 lead with 31.7 seconds left in regulation — only to see Stefanovic answer with the OT-forcing basket.
The Wolfpack shot just 3 for 10 in overtime as Purdue pushed ahead. That included Ivey blocking a driving shot by Seabron in OT with replays showing the ball had first hit the backboard for what should have been a goaltending call.
The frustration built for the Wolfpack until coach Kevin Keatts picked up a technical foul with 43.2 seconds left and the Boilermakers on their way to a win.
“It was a heck of a battle all the way to the end,” Keatts said. “And the message to our guys was, ‘Hey, you’re playing the No. 1 team in the country and you’re fighting all the way to the end.’ We had our chances, but we can play with anyone in the country.”
The Boilermakers’ first ever stay at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 was likely to be short even before Sunday after losing on a near-midcourt shot at Rutgers. They flirted with a second loss with that top ranking in four days before shooting 58.1 percent after halftime to finally wrestle control away of this one, improving to 3-0 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
The Wolfpack entered this game just 6-28 against No. 1-ranked teams in the AP poll, with most of those meetings coming against instate neighbors Duke or North Carolina in the ACC. The program’s last win against a top-ranked team remains an 84-76 home win against the Blue Devils in January 2013.
N.C. State faces Richmond in Charlotte on Friday. The Boilermakers meet Butler in Indianapolis on Saturday in the Crossroads Classic.
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