Pack Falls in Double Overtime on Italy Tour
8/7/2017 7:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PISA, ITALY – The NC State men's basketball team fell in double overtime on Monday evening to 'Da Ground,' a team comprised of professional Italian players from the Pisa area. The final score was 103-98 in a game played in front of a spirited home crowd who helped heat up the Piazzale dello Sport, a venue within view of the famous Leaning Tower, where the Wolfpack stopped for photos prior to the game.
"We played a very tough game versus a collection of talented Italian pros tonight," Pack head coach Kevin Keatts said. "This game will help more this upcoming season than winning by 36 points in our first game will."
Da Ground was a team made up of Italian professional players from the top league in Italy, Lega Basket A, as well as Serie A2 and Serie B professional leagues.
The game was tied in the early going, but Da Ground took a lead late in the first quarter and held it for the rest of the first half, taking a seven point lead into halftime. NC State turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to match the temperature in the arena and quickly evened the game as the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 63.
The rest of regulation was a tight affair as neither team could get much breathing room. The Pack recorded a defensive stop at the end of regulation to force overtime and again registered a stop on defense at the end of the first overtime to force a second. In the deciding overtime, the Pack trailed 99-98 with less than 40 seconds to play, but could not score another basket as Da Ground hit four free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
NC State will play one more game in Italy before returning to the United States on Saturday.
"We played a very tough game versus a collection of talented Italian pros tonight," Pack head coach Kevin Keatts said. "This game will help more this upcoming season than winning by 36 points in our first game will."
Da Ground was a team made up of Italian professional players from the top league in Italy, Lega Basket A, as well as Serie A2 and Serie B professional leagues.
The game was tied in the early going, but Da Ground took a lead late in the first quarter and held it for the rest of the first half, taking a seven point lead into halftime. NC State turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to match the temperature in the arena and quickly evened the game as the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 63.
The rest of regulation was a tight affair as neither team could get much breathing room. The Pack recorded a defensive stop at the end of regulation to force overtime and again registered a stop on defense at the end of the first overtime to force a second. In the deciding overtime, the Pack trailed 99-98 with less than 40 seconds to play, but could not score another basket as Da Ground hit four free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
NC State will play one more game in Italy before returning to the United States on Saturday.
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