NC State vs. LSU: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

Another game, another one-point victory.

North Carolina State forward BeeJay Anya lofted a left-handed hook shot that fell through the net with just 0.1 remaining on the clock, lifting the No. 8 Wolfpack to a stunning, come-from-behind 66-65 victory over No. 9 LSU.

NCAA March Madness provided a look at the play:

Anya noted the play was actually drawn up for guard Trevor Lacey and was pretty matter-of-fact when it came to his thought process in those final moments, per Pack Pride:

The Wolfpack, down by as many as 16 points in the second half, battled through stretches of poor shooting and porous transition defense to emerge victorious.

March Madness TV recapped the day's thrilling lineup of close results:

Backup forward Kyle Washington was huge down the stretch for NC State, scoring six of his nine points during a crucial 8-0 run that cut the Tigers' lead to just four with just under six minutes left in the game, and helped to set up the game's final drama.

Anya finished with four points, his only other bucket coming on a tip-in with just under a minute remaining that made the score 65-64 and set the stage for his game-winner.

LSU got huge performances from forward Jarell Martin and guard Tim Quarterman, but the team imploded when it counted. Poor free-throw shooting doomed its chances, per New York Times contributor Brendan Prunty: 

Martin finished with 16 points and 11 boards, while Quarterman racked up 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

D1Scourse.com's Patrick Stevens noted the Wolfpack are usually on the wrong end of such late-game devastation:

The game got off to a very competitive start, with both teams trading buckets and shooting at decent clips. By the first TV timeout at the 14:42 mark of the first half, LSU held a 9-8 advantage.

The Wolfpack backcourt had carried the team up to that point, but a nice five-point run from freshman power forward Abdul-Malik Abu added some variety to the team's attack. 

LSU stepped up the pressure on defense midway through the first half and did well to limit NC State's clean looks on offense. Quarterman really made his presence felt after the 10-minute mark, making crisp passes on the break, cleaning up on the boards and scoring.

Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted he sparked a big run for the Tigers:

The majority of those points came on clean, lightly contested dunks and layups, as LSU motored down the court hard after each forced turnover or missed opportunity from the Wolfpack.

Martin was particularly impressive in the first half. He threw down a couple of rim-rattling dunks, the first eliciting this response from ESPN's Dana O'Neil:

That 11-2 run actually ballooned to a 16-2 run, and LSU had a 31-20 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the half. TigerRag.com's Cody Worsham tallied Quarterman's production up to that point:

Quarterman would rack up two more assists before the break, and the Bayou Bengals took a resounding 40-26 lead into the locker room.

The Wolfpack had 10 turnovers in the half, allowing LSU to turn the game into a track meet for much of the first 20 minutes.

NC State opened the second half with a flurry of activity, moving the ball well and getting players into good scoring position.

A Turner trey at the 16:41 mark cut the Tigers' lead back down to single digits, 45-36 , but LSU freshman Jalyn Patterson answered right back with a triple of his own on the next possession. 

Florida Gators beat writer Kevin Brockway wondered if NC State head coach Mark Gottfried needed to make a change to stymie LSU's attack: 

 LSU wasn't slowing down one bit, but there was at least one member of the Wolfpack able to keep up after intermission. Anthony Barber was huge for NC State in the second half, racking up 11 points in the first 10 minutes and getting props from ESPN's Jeff Borzello for being so fleet of foot:

Barber's much-needed jolt kept NC State in the game and allowed time for another member of the Pack to get into a groove. 

An 8-0 run brought the Wolfpack within four with just under six minutes remaining. Six of those points came from Washington, who punctuated the run with a follow-up dunk and a three-pointer.

Washington, relegated to the bench in favor of Lennard Freeman as of late, was perhaps channeling his emotions into his play, per The Wolfpacker:

The Tigers' poor shooting from both the field and the line in critical moments kept the Wolfpack in the game, and they found themselves down, 65-62, with 59 seconds remaining. Anya put in his two buckets, and the rest was history.

The Wolfpack will take on top-seeded Villanova on Saturday, who crushed Lafayette 93-52 on Thursday.

The Wildcats forced Lafayette into 15 turnovers on Thursday. As noted, the Wolfpack were extremely careless with the ball in the first half, but recovered well and had just one turnover in the second.

If NC State can take care of the ball early on against Villanova and improve their three-point shooting—just 20.8 percent from long range against LSU, including a 2-of-10 performance from Turner—they may have a shot at upsetting the Wildcats on Saturday night.