North Carolina State University Athletics
Wake Forest Spoils NC State's Senior Day
3/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Tony Haynes
Raleigh, NC. -- The shot is called a free throw, but in its final regular season game of the year, NC State paid a heavy price for missing so many shots from the 15-foot line. No. 21 Wake Forest was more than willing to take advantage of the Wolfpack's 14-of-30 shooting from the line as it walked out the Entertainment and Sports Arena with a 76-58 victory in the final regular season game for both teams.
Forward Darius Songaila overcame early foul trouble to score 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Guard Robert O'Kelley added 15 and forward Josh Howard tallied 11 as the Deacons (19-9, 8-8) probably assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament bid by winning.
"Only Duke, North Carolina and Maryland in the league have come out of here with a win this season, so that puts us in pretty good company," said winning coach Dave Odom. "It's a difficult place to play and they're a difficult team to play, so to come out of here with a win says a lot about our team."
For NC State (13-15, 5-11), the loss added even more frustration to what has been a very frustrating season that started with so much promise and hope. And for Wolfpack seniors Kenny Inge, Ron Kelley, Damon Thornton and Cornelius Williams, it was a bitter way to close out their careers at home.
"We were 14-of-30 from the line, and that doesn't tell the whole story because I know we missed at least three front ends of one and ones," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "That's overwhelming to shoot the ball at the free throw line like that. You'd have to be playing an inferior opponent to shoot the ball like that from the foul line and still be competitive."
Wake Forest certainly wasn't an inferior opponent, and proved it following intermission. After the teams had battled to a 28-28-halftime tie, the Deacons made their move early in the second half. A key play occurred with just over 18 minutes remaining when Pack guard Anthony Grundy picked up his fourth foul.
"That was a lot of time left in the game for him to have four fouls," Sendek said. "I gambled by leaving him in when he had three because he is important to us. Obviously, that gamble didn't pay off."
And the Deacons cashed in by methodically building a lead which would eventually reach double-figures. After Kelley knocked down one of two from the free throw line to bring the Pack back within three points at 45-42, the Deacs' Songaila started a 10-3 Wake run by converting an old fashion three-point play on a hook in the lane and a free throw.
Cliff Crawford, who had a career high 18 points for NC State, buried a three-point bomb from the left hand corner to bring the Pack back within six at 55-49. But reserve Wake Forest forward Antwan Scott then made it an eight point game again with a bucket in the lane. A steal and two free throws by O'Kelley with 6:54 showing on the clock pushed the Deacons ahead 62-52.
Archie Miller briefly gave NC State some hope with a long three-pointer from the top of the circle. But when Broderick Hicks answered with a three of his own on the other end, the Deacons were well on their way to their first win in Raleigh in three years.
A Josh Shoemaker Dunk with just five seconds left gave accounted for Wake's biggest lead and the final score.
"I think Darius Songaila is a great player," Crawford said. "He took it upon his shoulders to put his team in position to win. In the first half he had some foul trouble, but in the second half he was a man."
Songaila, who played just nine minutes after picking up two early fouls in the opening half, came alive by scoring 14 of his points after intermission. Often catching the ball in the medium post area off the lane, the 6-9 junior was simply too quick and too skilled for his counterparts at NC State.
"He's really one of the best players in our league," Sendek said of Songaila. "We've tried every possible way to deal with him, but I don't know if we've come up with the right formula."
To go along with its poor free throw shooting, the Wolfpack continued to struggle with its shooting from the floor, hitting only 40.4 percent (19-of-47) for the game. In addition, 11 of State's 18 turnovers came after halftime.
Wake Forest hit an even 50 percent of its field goal attempts (26-52) after converting on 55 percent in the second half.
Along with Crawford, Kelley (11-points) was the only other NC State player to hit double-figures.
The day started on an emotional note as Sendek wiped away some tears during a ceremony to honor the four seniors prior to the game. In his final home game, Inge went scoreless and turned the ball over four times, although he did grab eight rebounds in 29 minutes.
"These kinds of moments affect all of us differently," Sendek said when asked if Inge had a tough time dealing with the emotion of the day. "There was a lot of emotion before the game and some people respond positively to these kinds of moments while others have a tougher time."
NC State will meet Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament next Friday in Atlanta. Wake Forest will open tourney play against red hot Maryland.
