North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Rally Falls Short
2/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
Anthony Grundy drills a three-pointer for NC State - (QuickTime Movie - 376k)
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 19) - Twice this season, NC State has pushed the ACC's best team to the limit. But that won't erase the pain of a late season five game losing streak that will force the Wolfpack to regroup and put together remarkable turnaround to make the NCAA Tournament.
No. 3 Duke withstood a furious Wolfpack comeback Saturday and clinched at least a tie for its fourth consecutive ACC regular season title with a 71-66 win over NC State in front of 19,623 at the Entertainment and Sports Arena
Conference player of the year candidate Chris Carrawell hit 8-of-13 shots for the Blue Devils and finished with 22-points. And every time NC State made a run in the second half, the clutch senior from St.Louis was there to answer with a big basket.
For the Wolfpack, guard Anthony Grundy snapped out of a four-game slump to score a game-high 26-points.
"That was a heck of a basketball game," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "I thought our kids came ready to play and we anticipated the right State team to play against us. State played their hearts out."
Especially in the second half when the Wolfpack got within four points with less than a minute to play after trailing by 16 late in the game.
When Shane battier nailed a 15-foot jumper to put Duke up 66-50 with 4:28 left, many wearing Wolfpack red started heading for the parking lots. What they missed was a remarkable NC State rally.
A drive and layup by Grundy capped an 8-2 run to pull the Pack within eight with 1:45 showing on the clock. Following a clutch Carrawell runner in the lane, Grundy answered with two free throws to make it 70-62 Duke.
Damien Wilkins hit a pair of free throws to close Duke's lead down to six, and when Grundy scored on another drive following a Kenny Inge steal with 38.5 seconds left, the Wolfpack was within striking distance at 70-66.
With just over 37 second remaining, Blue Devils forward Nate James missed the front end of a one and one to give State a chance of getting even closer. But that's when the Wolfpack got bogged down on offense. Grundy, Justin Gainey and Archie Miller all looked to penetrate and dish for a three-point shot, but the stingy Blue Devils wouldn't give an inch.
Near the end of the shot clock, Miller was called for traveling. The turnover ended NC State's last gasp hope of pulling off a miracle.
"Our guys have been resolutely determined through this stretch and I think that was profoundly exhibited today," said Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek. "I couldn't be prouder of their effort. They laid it on the line for 40-minutes. We're not in any way pleased with the loss, but I feel good being in the locker room with this group of guys."
The outcome could have been different had NC State gotten off to a better start. Duke scored the first ten points of the game, forcing Sendek to take a timeout less than three minutes into the game.
The Wolfpack got as close as three on two occasions in the opening half, but never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Duke's advantage at the half was 34-28.
Carrawell's all-star performance was complimented by freshman center Carlos Boozer, who scored 16-points on a 7-of-7 shooting touch from the field. Shane Battier had 15 and Jason Williams added 11 for Duke.
Along with Grundy, NC State had three other players reach double figures. Thornton scratched for 12 while Kenny Inge and Damien Wilkins added 10 apiece.
Duke shot 65.2 percent from the floor in the second half and went on to convert on 58 percent of its shots for the game.
NC State, which got decent looks at the basket most of the day, ended up shooting 40.3 percent.
"I though we did a very good job of getting good shots," Sendek said. "The other important thing offensively is handling the basketball with sureness. We had too many possessions that we squandered away with ballhandling miscues, although we only ended up with 15 turnovers."
NC State did do a good job on the boards, outrebounding Duke 36-30. The Pack had a 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Wolfpack played its fifth straight game without center Ron Kelley and fourth minus swingman Marshall Williams. Both players are still recovering from knee injuries. There is a good chance that both could play at Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
