North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Boston College
Boston College Topples Wolfpack, 93-81
1/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--The groans of dismay from an RBC Center crowd of 12, 526 would seemingly get a little louder with each missed shot. But no one--not the fans, not coach Herb Sendek and not the NC State players--had the power to will the ball in the basket. Boston College, meanwhile, had no such problems. Shooting 65.2 percent in the second half and 60 percent for the game, the Eagles (7-6) snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday night with a 93-81 victory over the Wolfpack (8-4).
Boston College's big three--Troy Bell, Craig Smith and Ryan Sidney--certainly lived up to their pre-game press clippings by scoring 69 points between them. Twenty of Sidney's 24 points came in the opening half. Bell, the 6-1 All-America, got going in the second half, scoring a game-high 25 points that included a perfect 13-of-13 touch from the free throw line. And Smith, the rugged 6-7, 265-pound post threat, delivered 20 for the Eagles.
NC State simply couldn't keep up the scoring pace on a night when it missed open shots of every variety. Center Josh Powell, who equaled his career-high with 23 points, could have actually put up 30 had it not been for two missed lay-ups and an errant dunk that bounded off the back of the rim.
Averaging 14 points per game coming in, junior Marcus Melvin did not even score after missing all seven of his shots from the field. For the game, the Wolfpack was just 6-of-29 from three point range and converted only 38.4 percent overall.
"We certainly didn't convert on some of the opportunities we had," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "We had some point-blank lay-ups, some dunks and some wide open jump shots. The offense afforded us the opportunity to score points."
But missing open shots was only half of the Wolfpack's problem on Thursday. The defense, long a staple of Sendek-coached teams, wasn't up to the challenge either. And if there's one thing Boston College has been able to do most of the year, it is to score points.
"The offense was fine," Powell said. "But at the same time we've got to be able to stop somebody, and that's what hurt us tonight."
Said Sendek: "Our albatross tonight was on the defensive end. We weren't able to stymie Boston College on offense. Their big three really hurt us."
Trailing 40-38 at the half, Boston College took control midway through the second half, going on a 9-1 run over five minute span to grab a 63-51 lead with 7:57 left. During the key stretch, the Wolfpack missed five straight shots and turned the ball over three times. B.C. led by as many as 12 points on six occasions before a Levi Watkins three got the Pack within six at 76-70 with 1:49 remaining. But following a time-out, NC State could not get the key stop it needed to make a game of it as Watson converted twice from the line to make it an eight-point game. Boston College, just a 69 percent free throw shooting team coming in, made 17-of-20 over the last 2:38 to keep the Wolfpack at bay. The Eagles finished 28-of-34 from the stripe.
Before fouling out with 5:43 left, Julius Hodge had tallied 21 points and five rebounds. Scooter Sherrill, who was just 2-of-7 from the arc, finished with 16 points. The junior guard also saw his streak of consecutive free throws made end at 35 when he missed late in the game. Clifford Crawford had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Pack.
"What was important for us was to show some patience and execution on offense," said Boston College head coach Al Skinner. "We knew who needed to get the ball and we had a pretty good understanding of that. It was good ball movement and good recognition on our part that allowed us to get the win."
For NC State, there won't be much time to dwell on what went wrong in its second straight loss and its first on home turf this season. The Wolfpack will swing right back into action when it travels to Florida State for an 8 p.m. contest on Saturday night.
"This team is too good to lose its confidence," said Sherrill. "We had a tough one at Georgia Tech and a tough one tonight, but we'll be all right. On Saturday, we'll just have to pick it up. We never lose our confidence, no matter what happens."
