North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Falls In Overtime
1/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
By Tony Haynes
Wednesday night's big four battle between NC State and 5th ranked Duke was for a share of first place in the ACC standings. When it was over, the Wolfpack earned some of the national respect it has been craving all season. Ironically, the Pack earned that respect with a loss.
Senior Chris Carrawell, who finished with 30-points, came up with most of the clutch plays down the stretch as the Blue Devils nipped NC State in an overtime thriller, 92-88.
With the victory, Duke notched a record tying 27th consecutive conference win. The Blue Devils equaled the mark set by NC State between 1972-75.
But perhaps more importantly, the Blue Devils (14-2,5-0) held on to sole possession of the ACC lead.
This was a game that certainly lived up to its advanced billing. There were a total of 12 ties and 16 lead changes. And just when it seemed as if Duke had decided the outcome at the end of regulation, the gutsy, gritty Wolfpack pulled a miracle out of its hat to send the game into overtime.
Here's how it unfolded in the end: After a pair of Damien Wilkins free throws had given NC State a 68-63 lead with 6:54 remaining, Duke went on a 9-4 run to even things at 72 apiece.
An Anthony Grundy runner in the lane put the Pack up 74-72 with 1:52 left. The Wolfpack led by one when the always clutch Carrawell penetrated through the NC State defense and finished with a layup to give Duke a 75-74 edge with 21 seconds remaining.
Three seconds later, the Wolfpack signaled for its last time out.
When play resumed NC State guard Justin Gainey went down after losing his footing near the top of the key. Gainey's first reaction was to call a time out. But since NC State was out of time outs, a technical foul was called.
Shane Battier and Mike Dunleavy hit four consecutive free throws to give the Blue Devils a seemingly insurmountable 79-74 lead with just over nine seconds remaining.
But after a drive and layup by Marshall Williams, the Pack was back within three with 3.3 seconds left on the clock. Then it really got bizarre. Duke turned the ball over on the inbounds pass.
NC State (12-3, 3-2) had it with 2.8 seconds showing. The inbounds pass came to Gainey, who threw up a wild off balance 25-footer that actually hit the rim two or three times before spinning out. But as Gainey shot the ball, the whistle blew. Battier was called for a three shot foul with just .08 showing on the clock.
Gainey made the first free throw but missed the second. State's only hope was for Gainey to miss his final try and hope someone got the rebound and quickly stick it back in. And that's exactly what happened.
On a play the Wolfpack has practiced many times, Gainey shot the ball hard off the back of the rim. Freshman Marshall Williams jumped into the middle the lane, grabbed the ball and put it back in at the horn to even the score at 79-79.
"Carrawell didn't block me out and I figured I had a lane to the basket," said Williams, who came up with 12 points off the bench. "The ball jumped right in my hands and I just went right back up with it."
Somehow though, Duke regrouped and took control in overtime. A pair of Carlos Boozer baskets inside gave the Blue Devils an 85-81 advantage. Duke was ahead by five when the never say die Pack responded with an Archie Miller three-pointer with just over a minute to play in the extra period. But at that point, NC State ran out of miracles.
After Boozer scored again, Carrawell and Nate James hit six straight free throws between them to finally ice it.
"What a great basketball game," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "I know Herb's got to be proud of his kids and I'm proud of ours. For us to play the overtime after that happened was something very special. That's one of the best things I've seen one of my teams do. It's an emotional downer when you think you had the game won and then it's not. It was amazing to comeback and play so magnificently in the overtime."
The first half was just as entertaining. There were ten lead changes and eight ties in the opening 20-minutes before a Jason Williams layup gave Duke a 42-40 lead at the break.
Duke's biggest lead in the second half was six. NC State was ahead by as many as five after the break.
"It was just a tough, hard-fought basketball game," said NC State coach Herb Sendek. "Guys played a lot of minutes on both teams. It was just a tremendous effort all around. When we've had big wins we've quickly move on and prepared for the next game, and that's exactly what we're going to do after a tough loss like this."
Damien Wilkins, Damon Thornton, Kenny Inge and Grundy all finished with eleven points for NC State. Ron Kelley, who played a stellar offensive game off the bench, led the Wolfpack with 17.
Along with Carrawell's 30-point night, Boozer hit 8-10 shots in a 24-point performance. James finished with 13 and Battier had 12 for Duke.
The Blue Devils also connected on 32 of 40 free throws. NC State was a respectable 16 of 21 from the line.
Duke knocked down 29 of 59 shots for 49.2 percent while the Wolfpack was 33 of 72 (45.8 percent) from the floor.
