North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Duke
Wolfpack Out-Dukes Blue Devils, 80-71
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 22, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--NC State finally got the devil off of its back. Make that the Blue Devils. Getting a career game from senior Clifford Crawford and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, the Wolfpack (10-4, 3-1) stunned 3rd rank Duke (12-2, 3-2) Wednesday night, 80-71. Seconds after the horn sounded, hundreds of Pack fans stormed the RBC Center floor, celebrating the end of NC State's 13-game losing streak to its Big Four neighbor from Durham.
Crawford's numbers--21 points and six assists--were certainly impressive. But it was also his second half defensive work on Duke shooting specialist J.J. Redick that set the stage for the Wolfpack's most impressive win of the season. In scoring 20 points in the opening 20 minutes, Redick drained a couple of threes that were launched a good 10 feet beyond the arc. But with Crawford dogging him every step of the way after halftime, the freshman from Roanoke would score only four more points on two of seven shooting.
"Cliff gave us what a senior should," said forward Marcus Melvin, who got 11 of his 15 points at the free throw line. "He stepped up in a big game, he knocked down shots and he got people the ball. Hopefully, this can be a great lift for him."
 NC State's Clifford Crawford struts down the court during the final minutes of the Wolfpack's 80-71 win over Duke.  |
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But Crawford was hardly a one-man show. In yet another splendid all-around effort, sophomore Julius Hodge tallied 18 points, five rebounds and six assists. Battling foul trouble most of the second half, Melvin came off the bench late to extinguish Duke's comeback hopes by draining 9-of-10 free throws in the final moments. As a team, NC State converted on 14-of-16 free throws over the last 2:02 to seal it.
"This was certainly a special night for us because we have such great respect for the Duke program and all that they've been able to accomplish," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek.
This was certainly not the same Wolfpack team that looked so out-of-sync in a home loss to Boston College less than a week ago. After falling behind 17-7 in the opening moments, NC State hung tough for the remainder of the first half and trailed by only five (39-34) at the break.
Then over the first four minutes of the second half, the Pack sent a message: This would be nothing like the three blowout losses to the Blue Devils last season. Hodge's steal, driving layup and free throw to complete an old-fashioned three-point play ignited a 14-3 run that would give NC State a 48-42 lead with 16:09 left.
 Julius Hodge (24) of NC State celebrates with the fans who rushed the court after a 80-71 win over third-ranked Duke. |
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Just like that, the massive RBC Center was sounding a lot like the old days at Reynolds Coliseum.
After a driving shot by Redick gave Duke a 51-48 advantage at the 12:22 mark, the Wolfpack kept battling. And when sophomore forward Levi Watkins broke a 51-51 tie with a big three from the right-hand corner to make it a three-point game, NC State had a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Simply put, the Wolfpack continued to make big play after big play on both ends of the floor to preserve its lead over the last 10 minutes. Crawford, who finished 4-of-5 from behind the arc, made it 57-53 with a long-range bomb with 7:20 left. Another Crawford three, this one at the 4:05 mark, made it 64-58. A minute later, Crawford struck again, this time on a layup following a gorgeous feed from Marcus Melvin to give NC State its biggest lead at 66-58.
"He played like a real veteran," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Crawford. "My hat goes off to him. He was really good and he hasn't been hitting like that. When you win games like this you need people to step up. I thought they had that."
Over the final few minutes, the Wolfpack would take care of business at the free throw line to close out its first win over Duke since the 1997 ACC Tournament.
Not only did NC State take care of the ball against the Blue Devils vaunted man-to-man defensive pressure, it also shot 50 percent for the game (23-46) after knocking down 55 percent in the second half. For the game, the Pack had 14 turnovers against a team that was forcing nearly 20 per game.
Duke hit 37.7 percent of its shots for the game, including just 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) in the second half. Incredibly, the Blue Devils managed just four fast break points the entire night as NC State succeeded in turning Duke into a halfcourt team.
"We knew we were good enough to beat this team," Hodge said. "We didn't look at them as a Final Four team we were playing against or they won the national championship two years ago. We looked at them as we would Florida State or Maryland or anyone else on our schedule."
