NC State
Maryland
Wolfpack Edged By No. 8 Maryland, 72-65
12/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 30, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--Maryland and NC State got together at the Entertainment and Sports Arena for what was billed as the ACC basketball opener for both schools. But somewhere along the way, a rugby match broke out. If rugby wasn't an official ACC sport before Sunday, it is now.
After 40 minutes of hand-checking, body-checking and hand-to-hand combat, the 6th ranked Terrapins emerged with a hard-earned 72-65 victory. For the Wolfpack (10-3), the game was there for the taking. But on a night when the Terps made only six field goals in the second half, the Pack couldn't capitalize with enough baskets of its own, going just 20-of-67 for 29.9 percent.
All ACC guard Juan Dixon 21 had points, including 10 straight free throws over the last 4:40, and junior point guard Steve Blake (11) had two huge baskets down the stretch as Maryland improved to 10-2 on the season.
The Terrapins were able to offset their poor offensive showing from the field by parading to the free throw line 49 times. Thirty-seven of those free throws came in the second half. Overall, Maryland scored almost half its points--35--from the charity stripe.
"We did a lot of good things tonight, our guys played with tremendous guts and effort," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "But to actually get over the hump and beat a team like Maryland, which was in the Final Four last year, the margin you have is sometimes paper thin. Steve Blake scored five consecutive points, and those five standout in my mind."
With Maryland leading by just three points with 2:42 left, Blake knocked down a short jumper on the baseline after shaking free from NC State freshman Julius Hodge on a flex cut. Then after Marcus Melvin's two free throws brought the Pack back within three, Blake answered with an open three-pointer from the left-hand corner. Ironically, the two shots, which came on back-to-back possessions, were Blake's only two field goals all night.
"It was just two key plays where I let Blake hit a three and get a layup," said Hodge, who posted his second career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. "I should have stepped up my defense. It was two little errors like that cost us the game. I could have done better and stopped him, but my mind was somewhere else."
Actually, Hodge may have kept NC State in the game by hitting the boards and controlling Blake most of the night. Ultimately, the Wolfpack couldn't overcome its proclivity for fouling, especially Josh Powell. The freshman from Riverdale, Georgia was virtually a non-factor after picking up his third and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half. He finished with zero points (0-5 from the floor) and three rebounds in 21 minutes.
"We just never got Josh in the flow tonight," Sendek said. "He didn't get a field goal. He's the one guy for us right now that's able to give us something around the basket. We became a team that relied exclusively on perimeter basketball and some drives. But we didn't get any points in the low post. You've got to be able to score there."
The Wolfpack's fate didn't look anymore promising with 18:28 remaining when freshman forward Levi Watkins went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. Landing awkwardly after knocking down short jump shot to trim Maryland's lead down to 34-30, Watkins was helped to the lockerroom, unable to put any pressure on his left leg.
"I'm hearing it's probably an ACL [tear]," Sendek said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope for the very best and let the MRI confirm that for us."
Even in the wake of Powell's foul trouble and Watkins' injury, NC State battled back to grab a 44-43 lead on Marcus Melvin's three-point bomb with 10:53 remaining. With the crowd of 18,163 howling and Maryland seemingly on the ropes, the Wolfpack had a chance to build on its lead. But two missed threes, one by Ilian Evtimov and another by Anthony Grundy, cost the Pack a chance to put some real game pressure on the Terps.
Scooter Sherrill's free throw at the 7:34 mark gave NC State its last lead before Maryland sophomore Chris Wilcox (nine points, 12 rebounds) scored on a layup to push the Terps in front by one. With 5:37 left, the Pack pulled even on a layup and free throw by Grundy, who led NC State with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. It was at that point that Blake and Dixon showed why they make up one of the nation's best backcourts. Two free throws by Blake were followed by two more from Dixon to give the Terrapins a 55-52 advantage. Moments later, Blake would convert on those two huge field goals to give his team some breathing room.
And down the stretch, Dixon was unflappable from the free throw line, showing why he was a 91 percent converter from the stripe coming in.
"I really felt NC State was working incredibly hard out there on the court," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "They're doing a great job with their team this year of maximizing their effort. Their wins against Syracuse and Houston point that out. They took us out of a lot of things today. We had to struggle there in the second half to keep our composure, which I think we did. We finally were able to get our defense to the point where it got very difficult to score because we probably weren't going to do it with our offense today. We weren't pretty, but I think that game could have been lost very easily. State's going to beat teams, especially here. Juan Dixon and Steve Blake are supposed to do what they did today. They really came through for us."
Maryland briefly led by 10 points (27-17) in the first half before NC State made a late rush to pull within 32-28 game at the break.
Surprisingly, the Wolfpack held its own on the boards and equaled Maryland's total of 42 rebounds. The Pack also had a commanding 18-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
