North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Holds Off Virginia
1/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
By Tony Haynes
NC State missed 17 of 27 free throws. NC State was outrebounded by an average rebounding team. Guess what? NC State also won.
In another wild ACC showdown in front of 19,027 nervous fans at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, the Wolfpack (11-2, 2-1 ACC) outscrapped scrappy Virginia 65-62 on Wednesday night.
Freshman Damien Wilkins led three Pack players in double figures with 13-points. And like most of his teammates, he gave a whole new meaning to the word 'free throw.' Somehow, NC State was able to survive despite hitting just 10 of 27 from the line.
"We were gutsy and gritty and found a way to win under great adversity," said a relieved Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek. "We just shot ourselves in foot all night long from the free throw line. But right now, the only stat I'm going to concern myself with is the final score."
The final score was made possible NC State defensive ace Damon Thornton, who made life difficult for Chris Williams. The sophomore forward was held to 13 points and converted on just four of eight shots from the floor.
Thornton's frontcourt running mate Kenny Inge also had a big hand in the victory. With NC State clinging to a 61-58 lead, Inge stepped in to draw a charge on UVA point guard Donald Hand with 3:03 remaining. The huge play put Hand out of the game with five fouls.
"That was probably the biggest play of the game because their team takes on a different look without Hand in the game," Sendek said. "Kenny takes a charge on our team as well as anybody. He's lead us in that area for the last two seasons."
After Chris Williams nailed a three-pointer in transition to tie the score 61-61 with 2:25 left, Inge drove down the lane for a monster slam to give the Pack a lead it would never again relinquish.
NC State was then able to stave off a couple of off-balance three-point attempts by Virginia freshman Roger Mason in the final minute to preserve the victory.
The halftime score was 31-28 in favor of NC State. Over the first several minutes of the second half, the two teams traded big basket after big basket. With 11:32 left, a Thornton follow shot gave the Pack a 44-39 advantage. But Williams answered with a big three to cut the NC State lead back down to two.
Just seconds later, Pack guard Anthony Grundy ripped the chords on a three while being fouled. The completed four-point play put the Wolfpack ahead 48-42. With 10:40 left, Grundy fouled out on an aggressive drive by Hand.
A driving layup by Justin Gainey with 8:51 remaining pushed the Pack in front 52-43. NC State would lead by nine on two other occasions before Virginia (10-5, 1-2 ACC) started its late game comeback. The Williams three that tied the game at 61-apiece ended a 16-7 run by the Cavaliers.
But without Hand on the floor, UVA was unable to get many good looks out of its offense down the stretch.
"I thought NC State was a little more aggressive and a little more physical than us," said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. "Our offensive execution wasn't very good. NC State is very physical. They bump you and they hold you. They create turnovers because they're very physical. You've just got to adjust to it."
The Cavaliers, who outrebounded NC State 36-30, had 20 turnovers in the game. Meanwhile, the Pack did a good jog against Virginia's many zone presses and turned the ball over just 12 times.
Before fouling out, Hand scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half. Along with Williams, Travis Watson was the only other Cavalier in double figures with 10. The burly freshman also added 15 rebounds.
For NC State, Wilkins had nine boards to go along with his 13 points. Grundy and Inge had ten each for the Wolfpack.
With his weekly radio show looming on Monday night, Sendek was already armed and ready for questions about the Pack's poor free throw shooting.
"I promise you, we've practiced free throws as much as anybody in the country. In fact, Charlie (Director of Sports Medicine Charlie Rozanski) is worried about blisters on our fingers because we're shooting so many. Ability wise, we're a lot better than we were tonight."
Fortunately, NC State also has some abilities in other areas as well.
