Shakeel Moore is a tough security guard who has built his reputation on the AAU circuit as a bulldog defender.
Whatever he does for the rest of his NC State career, the Greensboro freshmen will be remembered for a peak dunk and breakout performance in a 79-76 win over No. 17 North Carolina on Tuesday.
UNC (5-3, 0-1 ACC) had two chances in the last 10 seconds to level the game, but three-pointers from RJ Davis and Caleb Love were each off the shelf.
Moore, who averaged 5.2 points in his first five college games, scored 17 points to help the Wolfpack (5-1, 1-0) break a 7-game loss streak to the Tar Heels.
“It was big just because of the first ACC game,” said Moore. ‘It’s our rival. It was great for me to come up and get the minutes and show up. “
It was Moore’s opinion, at 10:28 in the second half, that Wolfpack fans will “like” and “retweet” on social media and scrolling into their own memory.
“Shak is a monster and he still gets his feet wet,” senior security guard Devon Daniels said in the post-game. “The most important thing with our freshmen is that they have no fear.”
Moore, who is 6-1, drove baseline forward around UNC Garrison Brooks and then raised to dip over UNC freshman Walker Kessler, who is 7-1.
Moore, who hit his first three three-pointers, said his early success with the jumper set Brooks ready for the move.
“I just thought about fake a simple pump and rip baseline and I could get that and show my athleticism there,” said Moore.
Daniels added 21 points for the Wolfpack, who led with no less than 17 points in the first half, while Moore came out 13 before half time. Attacker Manny Bates added 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Before sitting down for the Zoom press conference after the game, Daniels said, “We finally have those guys!”
NC State’s last home win over the Tar Heels was in 2013.
“I’m so happy,” said Daniels. “Just during the game. I felt the growth with our team. This was a victory for the whole team.”
NC State made only 11 of 20 off the free-throw line to keep the door open late for the Tar Heels, who were led by sophomore forward Armando Bacot (16 points).
The young UNC guards have had trouble taking care of the ball this season and the Tar Heels were slow starters.
Both storylines continued for UNC, who flipped the ball seven times in the first 12 minutes as Wolfpack jumped to a 32-19 lead.
NC State was backed by a performance of 66.7 percent (6 of 9) from the 3-point line.
Bacot helped the Heels quickly cut the margins of the state before the end of the half. It was 49-42 against the break and the Heels were behind 53-51 and 57-55 and 59-57.
But after dominating NC State in a couple of wins last season, senior forward Garrison Brooks struggled from the floor (5 of 14), scoring just 10 points.
The state had gone up 59-57 when Moore exploded for a dunk that would have lightened what would have been a sold-out PNC Arena. Instead, it was his scream that echoed through the empty building.
NC State led the way with 13, 77-64, after an interruption by guard Thomas Allen at 5:13 am. And then UNC started to break down. The Heels made it 77-73 with 1:03 left before Daniels made a few free throws.
Braxton Beverly and Daniels then missed four free throws in a row in the last minute, but UNC was unable to take advantage.
“We bowed a little bit, but we never stayed broke,” said NC State coach Kevin Keatts.
Remarks: Freshman security guard Cam Hayes had missed the previous two games due to COVID-19 protocols. He added seven points in 11 minutes. … Senior forward DJ Funderburk missed his third game in a row due to COVID protocols. … NC State improved to 5-32 against Roy Williams while Keatts, in his fourth year, has a 2-5 record against Williams.