North Carolina State University Athletics
Tulane Turns Back #25 NC State, 73-62
12/23/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
(New Orleans, LA.)--NC State's stay in the AP College Basketball Poll was short, but hardly sweet. Two days after being voted into the top 25 for the first time in nearly ten years, the Wolfpack found out first hand just how fleeting success can be.
Fired up Tulane, which was fighting for a little respect of its own, handed NC State (7-1) its first defeat of the season Wednesday night, 73-62.
Guard Dylan Osean hit seven of ten shots, including four of six from three point range, in a season-high 22-point outburst for the Green Wave (8-1). Senior center Morris Jordan added 16 for the winners.
"I thought Tulane played very well," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "But I'm much more focused on our team's performance. We certainly didn't do the things we needed to do to be as competitive as we needed to be tonight."
The Wolfpack was plenty competitive for the first 18 minutes. Behind the inside scoring of Ron Kelley and Kenny Inge, the Pack pushed its way to an eleven-point lead in the opening 20-minutes.
An Inge layup gave NC State a 32-21 lead with just over five minutes remaining. From that point on, however, the Green Wave grabbed the momentum and never gave it back.
Tulane's defensive pressure, which gave State problems most of the night, forced three consecutive Pack turnovers to get the ball rolling. Back to back three-pointers by Osean spearheaded a 9-2 run that helped Tulane close the gap to just four points at halftime.
The wave of momentum that the Green Wave started building in the latter stages of the first half continued in the opening five minutes of the second stanza. A 12-4 blitz gave Tulane a lead it would never relinquish.
The key sequence of the game may have occurred with the Wolfpack clinging to a 40-37 lead. After throwing an errant pass into the waiting arms of the Green Waves Trello Galloway, NC State forward Damon Thornton only compounded matters by fouling Galloway on a dunk attempt on the other end. The ball hit the back of the rim, bounced straight up and fell back through.
It didn't end there. As the two players jawed at each other under the basket, official Larry Rose whistled Thornton for a technical foul. The five-point possession gave Tulane a 42-40 lead.
"We didn't have the type of poise, composure and execution that you need," Sendek said. "Their pressure really bothered us, especially in the first half when we had 13 turnovers."
On the night, NC State had 18 turnovers, which resulted in 18 Tulane points. By contrast, Tulane only turned the ball over eight times. Coming in, the Wolfpack had forced its first seven opponents into an average of nearly 24 turnovers per game.
With the Green Wave leading 60-50, NC State tried to put together a last-ditch charge to pull the game out. A seven-nothing run, which culminated with Archie Miller's three-pointer, pulled the Pack within three at 60-57 with 4:26 remaining. From that point on, however, NC State could get no closer.
"I think they (Tulane) did a great job of scouting us as a team," said NC State guard Anthony Grundy, who scored just six points on a three for 12 shooting night. "I think this was the worst game we've played as a team. Hopefully, we can rebound from this after the Christmas break and start over."
As a team, NC State shot 46 percent from the floor-but only 34.6 in the second half. Tulane was 26 of 60 from the field for 43.3 percent. Although the overall battle of the boards was even, the Green Wave had an 18 to 13 advantage on the offensive glass.
Freshman Damien Wilkins finished with 15 points to lead NC State. Kelley and Inge had 12 apiece, but most of their damage was done in the first half.
