North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Tripped Up By Georgia, 68-63
12/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
ATLANTA, Ga. - The season of giving has arrived. But it's highly unlikely that NC State intended on being so generous when it met Georgia Saturday afternoon at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Cashing in on 20 turnovers, the suddenly resurgent Bulldogs won for the fifth time in six games by holding off the Pack, 68-63.
The miscues, combined with 17 offensive rebounds by Georgia, were simply too much for NC State (5-3) to overcome.
"When you turn the ball over you can't score," was the succinct synopsis by Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "The ones that stand out in my mind from this game are the ones that there's no explanation for."
In other words, many of the turnovers fell under the 'unforced' category.
Said guard Anthony Grundy: "We have a lot of good ball handlers on our team and it's uncharacteristic of us. The first couple of games we really took care of the ball. We've just got to make a concerted effort to take care of the ball better."
Led by talented guard Ezra Williams (19 points, eight rebounds), Georgia (6-3) built on a five point halftime lead by putting together an 8-1 run in the early stages of the second half. An Adrian Jones layup with 12:34 left put the Bulldogs ahead 49-37.
And when Williams buried a wide-open three from the left wing at the 7:05 mark, the 'Dogs were up by 13 at 56-43. Georgia was able to maintain its double-digit lead into the final minutes when NC State nearly turned the game around with a scrappy full court press.
Down by 10 with just under four minutes to play, the Wolfpack scored five straight points to get back in it. A shot in the lane by Damien Wilkins with 2:56 showing on the clock made it 60-55. Seconds later, Wilkins stole an errant Georgia pass and started a two on one fast break with Kenny Inge. But when Wilkins' bounce pass skipped off of Inge's hands out of bounds, the Pack had wasted an excellent opportunity to move to within three points with plenty of time left.
"We don't have the luxury of being able to squander possessions like that," Sendek said. "It was a two on one that would have led to an uncontested layup. You just can't get those possessions back."
Even after that big turnover, however, NC State continued to make Georgia squirm. A long three-point shot by freshman Scooter Sherrill with 29 seconds left pulled the Pack within four at 65-61. After Williams converted on one of two free throws on the other end to make it 66-61, Inge made it a three-point game with an uncontested dunk with 15 ticks left. But the Pack's hopes were then dashed when guard D.A. Layne hit a pair of free throws to seal it.
Layne, who exploded for 28 points in Georgia's 75-70 victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night, was held in check most of the day although he did score 11 of his 15 points in the second half.
Concerned about his team's ability to match-up with the physical Bulldogs, Sendek opened the game by employing a 1-3-1-zone defense. The strategy succeeded in preventing Georgia from getting the ball inside, but when Williams and Rashad Wright hit three point bombs late in the half, State went back to its man-to-man.
Overall, there were six ties and five lead changes in a tightly contested opening half that ended with a Williams layup to give the 'Dogs a 35-30 lead. Offensive rebounding-a Georgia specialty-was a big factor in the first 20 minutes. Nine offensive boards-three on missed free throws-led to eight Georgia points.
Along with Williams, Layne (15 points) and Jones (13) also hit double figures for the Bulldogs.
With 18 points and 11 rebounds, Pack forward Kenny Inge recorded his fourth double double in his last five games. The only other NC State player to finish in double figures was Anthony Grundy, who had 12 points.
NC State hit 41.5 percent (22-53) of its field goal attempts while Georgia was 26-64 for 40.6 percent.
Although the Wolfpack won the overall rebounding battle 40-39, the Bulldogs had a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
