North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Duke
Turnovers Doom Wolfpack in 79-68 Loss at Duke
2/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Durham, N.C.--How do you shoot 56.5 percent from the floor, including 68 percent in the second half and still lose by 11 points? One way to accomplish such an unlikely feat is to turn the ball over 24 times. Scoring 31 points off of NC State's miscues, Duke won for the 27th consecutive time on its home floor, posting a 79-68 victory over the Wolfpack in front of the usual ear-piercing throng of 9, 314 fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Four Blue Devils finished in double figures, including senior forward Dahntay Jones who tallied a game-high 19 points.
With the win, the Blue Devils (19-4, 9-4) stayed within striking distance of first place in the ACC standings. Duke and Maryland are currently one game behind league leader Wake Forest, which will host Virginia on Sunday night. Now 7-5 in the league and 14-9 overall, NC State dropped into sole possession of 4th place.
Smothering the Wolfpack with its overplaying man-to-man defense in the first half, the Blue Devils forced 16 turnovers that led to several easy baskets. Denying passes that NC State usually makes with ease, Duke built a 44-27 lead at the break as Dahntay Jones scored 11 points.
 Duke fans taunt NC State's Julius Hodge as he prepares to inbound the ball.  |
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But to its credit, the Wolfpack didn't fold. Getting stellar play from Julius Hodge and Clifford Crawford in the second half, the Pack made a couple of runs at Duke, but never could get over the hump. Each time NC State seemed to be on the verge of making a game of it, the Blue Devils would come up with a big shot or get to the free throw line, where it converted on 22-of-29 attempts.
On two occasions in the second stanza, the Wolfpack would close to within eight points. Hodge converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, a fast break layup and two free throws to ignite a 7-0 run over the first few minutes of the second half. But following a timeout by coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils would answer by going on a 10-2 blitz to blow the lead back out to 16 again.
Later in the half, the Pack would make another run. A 3-point play by Crawford on a drive and foul was followed by Josh Powell's tip in to get NC State within eight at 63-55 with 6:30 remaining. Nine seconds later, however, freshman J.J. Redick would hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game. Passing the ball over the Wolfpack's 2-2-1 three quarter court press, point guard Chris Duhon found a wide-open Redick, who drilled a 3-point basket from the right hand corner to finally take the air of NC State's balloon.
"He had been held in check most of the night," Crawford said of Redick, who hit just 3-of-8 shots for 10 points. "That shot was a dagger. We had it down to eight and we were on a run and had them back on their heels. He's a great shooter. Anytime you leave him open, nine times out of 10 he's going to make that shot."
Said NC State head coach Herb Sendek: "Redick's basket was a key one. We just didn't stay matched-up in the press. We just lost him, inexplicably. He's a guy that makes you pay for a mistake like that."
Held to just four points in the opening half, Hodge was at times unstoppable after intermission, often driving right through the Duke defense for shots around the basket. The sophomore from Harlem finished with 18 points on a 7-of-13 shooting touch. Crawford, who had 17 points, also had success beating Duke off the dribble in the second half as the Wolfpack looked for more penetration after halftime.
Ultimately though, NC State could not overcome an error prone first half, which saw Duke's pressure often suffocate Wolfpack ball-handlers. During one stretch midway through the first half, NC State turned the ball over on six of eight possessions as Duke built a 22-13 lead with 10:10 remaining. By halftime, the Blue Devils had 22 points off of 16 Pack turnovers.
"Analyzing the game, certainly you go to the turnovers," Sendek said. "Twenty-four turnovers are too many to overcome, even when you shoot 68 percent in the second half and 57 for the game."
In its 80-71 victory over Duke in Raleigh last month, NC State finished with a manageable number of 14 turnovers. But when the Blue Devils turned up the heat early on Saturday, the Pack seemed to lose its poise and composure at times.
"We were careless," said Crawford, who had six turnovers. "Our offense is set up to handle pressure. Any time a guy is up in your face, you should go back door. Tonight, we didn't do that in the first half. We made some long passes that we shouldn't have made."
Giving Jones support on the offensive end for Duke was sophomore guard Daniel Ewing, who popped off the bench to score 18 points in 29 minutes. Duhon finished with 12 points, five assists and his only turnover in the last three games as the Blue Devils stretched their ACC winning streak to three games.
"We beat a really good team," Krzyzewski said. "They're a difficult team to play against because they're so well-schooled in their offense. We forced 24 turnovers and a number of those turnovers turned into fast break points. In our Maryland game, we had no points on fast breaks. I'm not sure when that last happened. We've tried to place a little bit more emphasis on getting in passing lanes and it paid off for us."
For the game, Duke hit 27-of-57 shots from the floor for 47.4 percent. NC State held the upper hand on the boards, out-rebounding the Blue Devils 28-23.
Also hitting double figures for NC State were Josh Powell, who had 14 points, and Marcus Melvin, who had 11. The Wolfpack was without the services of back-up center Jordan Collins, who was attending the funeral of his grandmother.
