North Carolina State University Athletics
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Virginia
Virginia Pulls Out 61-58 Win over NC State
2/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
Charlottesville, Va.--NC State's ACC basketball battle with Virginia on Sunday had a little bit of everything. There was suspense. There was also plenty of intensity between a pair of teams vying to move up in the league standings. There was even a little bit of controversy. In the end, a rare ACC road win that was there for the taking for NC State (12-7, 5-4) slipped away in the final moments as the Cavaliers (14-7, 5-4) rallied for a 61-58 victory.
But the Wahoos prevailed only after surviving a couple of dramatic 3-point tries by the Wolfpack. With NC State trailing by three, Marcus Melvin, who had just seven points, missed an open try from the arc with 20 seconds remaining. But the Pack got another shot when Julius Hodge corralled the rebound. Following a time-out, NC State worked the ball around the perimeter before Hodge put up a double-clutching 3-point attempt just before the horn sounded. The ball bounced in and out, much to the relief of Virginia coach Pete Gillen and 8,120 partisans looking on at University Hall.
"When they brought it out, we wanted to foul them to be honest with you," Gillen said. "They don't always listen to me. We didn't want them to hit a three on us at the end. We went man-to-man and when they pulled it out, we wanted to foul. We didn't want them to hit a three and they almost did."
Getting 15 points and 14 rebounds from center Travis Watson, the Cavaliers snapped a 5-game losing streak to NC State. Sophomore big man Elton Brown was the only other Virginia player in double figures with 12 points, 10 of which came in the opening half.
Following NC State's win over Virginia in early January, Gillen was none to pleased with the officiating, implying that the officiating crew that particular night had allowed the Wolfpack to get away with some rough play in the post on Watson. On Sunday, however, Gillen wasn't complaining about the officiating.
Down the stretch, there were two crucial block-charge calls that went Virginia's way. The first came with just under 3:00 to play. With the Pack in front 58-57, Watson took a step toward the basket and barreled into NC State's Levi Watkins. Official Duke Edsall called a block, giving Watson a pair of free throws, which were made to put Virginia in front by one.
The next big call occurred 16 seconds later with UVa holding a 59-58 advantage. Wheeling inside, Hodge finished a tough left-hand layup while drawing contact. But the basket was taken away by veteran official Larry Rose, who ruled that Watson, sliding in underneath the basket, had drawn the charge. A couple of free throws by Virginia's Derrick Byars with 1:56 remaining accounted for the only scoring the rest of the way.
"Julius had a clear path to the basket, scored the bucket and a charge was called," said Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "Some things didn't go our way down the homestretch."
Critical officiating calls aside, NC State had plenty of chances to secure what would have certainly been one of its best and most important wins of the season. After falling behind 14-4 early, the Wolfpack fought back to take a 30-29 lead at the break. Shooting just 34.4 percent in the first half, the Pack made seven of its first nine shots in the second half to grab a 45-36 lead. With 13:17 remaining, the NC State bench came alive when a Hodge 3-pointer from the right-hand corner made it 48-39.
But Virginia wouldn't go away. Taking advantage of three Wolfpack turnovers, the Cavaliers scored seven straight points to close to within two points. Point guard Majestic Mapp closed the run with a pull up 3-pointer in transition to make it 48-46, NC State.
Getting great plays on both ends of the floor from senior guard Cliff Crawford, who finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, NC State seemed to weather the storm and led 56-52 with just over five minutes left.
Then came perhaps the biggest momentum swing of the game. Using his size to post up Virginia guard Todd Billett inside, Crawford took a lob pass over the top and went up for a layup from the left side. But his shot missed off the front of the rim. After a Watson rebound, the Cavaliers sprinted down the floor and got the ball into the hands of guard Jermaine Harper, who drained a three from the left corner to bring Uva back within one. The five-point turnaround ignited the Cavaliers and their crowd down the stretch.
"That was a very big shot he hit," Crawford said of Harper's bomb on the other end of the court. "I put all the pressure on myself. It's terrible to miss a layup like that. I just couldn't believe that. It's really embarrassing."
After that big exchange, NC State's only basket the rest of the way was a jump shot by Hodge at the 2:56 mark. Fouled on the play, Hodge missed a free throw that would have given the Pack a two-point advantage. Crawford would also miss the front end of a one and one with 3:35 left as the Wolfpack would knock down only 2-of-5 free throws in the second half. Virginia, meanwhile, made 5-of-6 after intermission, including four in a row by Watson and Byers in the final 2:41.
Though it shot 52.2 percent in the second half, the Wolfpack made only five of its last 14 shots over the final 13 minutes.
Hodge paced NC State, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Scooter Sherrill and Levi Watkins notched 10 points apiece.
Making one of its best showings of the year on the boards, the Wolfpack actually out-rebounded the larger Cavaliers 33 to 30. But Virginia would do a better job of taking advantage of NC State's turnovers. The Pack's two primary ball handlers--Crawford and Hodge--had 10 between them. On the other side, Billett and Mapp combined to play a total of 57 minutes between them without turning the ball over once.
"I told our guys to hold their head high, they played their tails off today," Sendek said. "I couldn't have ask for any more effort than the guys gave. I thought their passion and competitive spirit was sensational."
Said Crawford: "It's very tough. We lost the game before this and we really came in here with high expectations. It didn't go in our favor tonight. We've got a lot of opportunities to get better. We've got Georgia Tech next and I think this team is focused. If we continue to work this hard, we should be fine."
The Pack will host Tech at the RBC Center Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m.
