NC State
South Carolina
South Carolina Edges NC State, 58-55
12/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Columbia, S.C.--NC State's first basketball game at South Carolina since 1971 resembled the old days when the two schools regularly engaged in what are remembered as classic ACC battles. Just like those old days, this one was intense, tight and pressure-packed. Now a member of the Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks rallied for their 10th win in 11 outings, slipping past the Wolfpack 58-55. Guard Josh Gonner led South Carolina with a career-high of 19 points, but it was an opportunistic rebound basket off of a missed free throw by forward Kerbrell Brown with just 12 seconds remaining that ultimately pushed the Gamecocks out of harms way.
After coming back from an 11-point deficit to grab a 48-43 lead with 7:14 left, NC State (5-2) would get only one field goal over the next seven minutes, a cold stretch that allowed South Carolina to grab a 53-50 advantage following a 10-2 run. It was also during that decisive stretch that Julius Hodge came up empty on the front end of two one-and-ones and Marcus Melvin missed a pair from the line.
Trailing by three with 13 seconds remaining, the Pack got a huge break when Ilian Evtimov was fouled by Carlos Powell on a missed 3-point shot. After Evtimov knocked down the first shot to make it 53-51, South Carolina coach Dave Odom called a time-out, a strategy that apparently worked. When the teams return to the floor, Evtimov missed the second free throw before sinking his third shot to leave the Pack down by one.
Fouled quickly following the inbounds pass with 12 seconds remaining, guard Mike Boynton drained the first of two to give the Gamecocks a 54-52 lead. On the second free throw, the ball caromed off to the left of the rim, where Melvin reached up to grab it. Then, out of nowhere, Brown took the ball away and laid it in with just 10 seconds showing on the clock to put South Carolina up by four. Taren Kinsey then sealed it with a steal and dunk that ignited a joyous celebration at the one-year old Colonial Center.
"It was certainly a great win for us and a difficult loss for NC State," said Odom, now in his third-year at South Carolina. "I said to myself at about the 10-minute mark when we weren't playing well that regardless of the outcome, this is the kind of game that would help us. When you win like that, it helps you even more and you can find even more positives. But I really think it's the kind of game that will help both teams."
For NC State, it turned into another day of missed opportunities on the road. Down 10-0 right out of the gate, the Wolfpack trailed 30-22 at the break after turning the ball over 10 times in the first half. The Pack was down 41-31 with 14:15 left when it got things going behind Levi Watkins and freshman guard Engin Atsur. Atsur, who finished with a career-high 10 points, scored seven points and Watkins added five during a 17-2 blitz that put NC State in front 48-43. The Wolfpack then had an excellent chance to go up by seven when Hodge, catching the ball in the lane, scooped up a shot that went in and out. Then came the free throw woes with Hodge and Melvin missing four in a row between them when South Carolina was coming back from five down.
"That was a key sequence," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "Time and score wise, that stands out. But there were so many other possessions in the game that we just didn't capitalize on."
Held in check most of the way, Gamecocks' star Carlos Powell scored nine of his 11 points down the stretch when South Carolina rallied to move back in front. Brown also added 11 points and 10 rebounds for U.S.C.
"Down the stretch, [Powell] gave us what we had to have," Odom said.
Hodge, who led NC State with 13 points and 12 rebounds, didn't get much help from senior co-captains Marcus Melvin and Scooter Sherrill. While Melvin finished just 3-of-7 for seven points, Sherrill had a real tough day, scoring only two points on 1-of-5 shooting. Watkins scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
Eligible to play his first game of the season, Wolfpack center Jordan Collins had a respectable effort, coming up with two points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
For the game, South Carolina shot 35.7 percent from the floor (20-56) and lost the battle of the boards 37-33. The Gamecocks, however, did take care of the ball, turning it over only nine times. NC State knocked down 23-of-51 for 45.1 percent, but made only 3-of-8 from the free throw line.
