NC State
Maryland
NC State Ends Maryland Streak, Wins 81-69
2/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
College Park, MD. - The NC State basketball team had a Super Bowl Sunday that was indeed super. Ending a streak of futility that had lasted through three coaches, three presidents and 14 agonizing years, the Wolfpack downed Maryland in College Park, 81-69. Junior Julius Hodge, who was coming off two sub par performances, had 28 points, while freshman guard Engin Atsur scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half as the Pack (12-5, 5-2) nailed down sole possession of second place in the ACC standings by posting its first win in College Park since January of 1989.
In winning its second road game of the season, NC State avoided the scoring droughts and turnovers that were so costly in five of its first six games away from home. On Sunday, the Wolfpack stayed tough, stayed poised and stayed together every time the boisterous Maryland crowd would respond to a Terrapin run.
Along with knocking down eight of its last 10 field goals in the second half, the Pack also drilled its last six 3-point shots and finished 8-of-11 from long range in the second half. Then the ACC's best free throw shooting team nailed the coffin shut by calmly stepping to the line and dropping shot after shot over the final several minutes. For the game, the Wolfpack was 23-of-25 and made nine straight over the last 2:08.
But above all else, NC State took good care of the basketball. Averaging 18 turnovers in its previous six road games, the Wolfpack had only nine on Sunday, including just three in the second half.
"We're very pleased to come in here and get a win," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "I thought the guys showed tremendous poise and composure throughout the game. I really liked our preparation. I think our guys had a tremendous mindset coming into the game. Nothing about this was easy. What those guys did today was really special."
Hodge was certainly special. Guarded most of the game by Maryland defensive ace Nik Caner-Medley, the spindly 6-7 junior scored most of his points on backdoor cuts and drives to the basket. Hitting 9-of-18 shots from the floor, Hodge also had nine rebounds, five assists and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. All of this came after he had struggled in NC State's previous two games, scoring only two points before fouling against Georgia Tech and finishing with 12 points and six turnovers in the two-point loss at North Carolina on Wednesday.
Hodge wore a scowl most the day, a facial expression that displayed his overall determination to end talk that he was sliding into a slump.
"I came with the mindset that there was going to be no more smiling and trying to keep everyone happy," Hodge said. "I'll leave that for after the season. I'm going to be extra tough on myself and tough on my teammates. We're going to continue to strive for excellence. We played well today, I did a good job and we got a big win."
The Wolfpack also got a big game from Atsur, the poker-faced rookie from Turkey. Staying cool under pressure, Atsur hit 4-of-5 from the arc and finished with only two turnovers, although he was NC State's primary ball-handler most of the afternoon against Maryland's pressure defenses.
"He had a great game," Sendek said. "People now know why I call him Cool Hand Luke because he has that special demeanor that allows him to make big plays."
If there was another player who epitomized NC State's effort, it may have been forward Ilian Evtimov. After spraining his left ankle midway through the second half, it didn't appear that the redshirt sophomore would be able to come back. But Evtimov had other ideas. Not only did he return, he made some passes, baskets and free throws down the stretch to help NC State secure the victory.
"It gave me the greatest respect for Ilian," Hodge said. "I saw him go down and I was just hoping it wasn't the knee again. I saw him get up I thought he would be alright. For him to show the character to not only get back in the game, but to grab rebounds and hit a big-time layup for us, that showed something about him as a person."
NC State may have set the tone early, jumping out to a quick 9-0 lead with forward Marcus Melvin (15 points, seven rebounds) scoring all nine points on two 3-pointers and three free throws after being fouled outside the arc by Jamar Smith. The Wolfpack led by as many as 11 in the first half before Maryland chipped away and finally tied it at 33-33 with a 12-4 run at the end of the half.
But instead of collapsing in the wake of that Terps' rally, the Wolfpack put together one of its best halves of the season after intermission.
Smith, who led Maryland (11-7, 2-5) with 21 points and six rebounds, hit a tough jumper in the lane with 14:55 left to make it 43-43. After that, the Terrapins would lead only twice, at 44-43 and 48-47 on a Smith layup with 11:26 remaining.
The last 11 minutes belonged to the Pack. In an omen of things to come, Atsur banked in a desperation 3-pointer late in the shot clock to put the Wolfpack up 52-48 with 10:38 left. But for the remainder of the half, no glass would be needed.
Scooter Sherrill, who scored all 10 of his points after halftime, hit three deep 3s in a row, the last of which gave NC State a 65-55 lead with 6:03 left. After Maryland crept to within four on another bucket inside by Smith with just under four minutes showing on the clock, Atsur blew a layup on the other end after getting open on a backdoor cut. But the rookie didn't flinch. On the Pack's next possession, he buried another 3-pointer from the deep right corner with just 2:43 left to make it 70-63.
"You learn a lot about a person on a play like that," Sendek said. "He missed the backdoor layup and that was a big possession because Maryland had some momentum coming after that miss. Then right back at you, he hit that 3 from the corner."
From there, Maryland would get no closer than six. Up 73-67, NC State, may have put it away when Evtimov drove by his man on the baseline and finished a reverse layup with 1:11 left. Over the last few minutes, Evtimov, Melvin and Hodge then slammed the door at the free throw line.
"They're a tough team to play from behind because of their patience and their experience," said Maryland coach Gary Williams. "They do a good job of stretching the clock. Hodge had a big day and we didn't exactly do a great job on him. We were just passive out there at times and they made us pay."
For the game, NC State shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) after hitting 53.8 percent in the second half. The Wolfpack was also 10-of-19 from 3-point range, while Maryland was just 2-of-14. Overall, the Terps shot 48.3 percent and won the rebounding battle, 34-30.
But the key statistic in Sendek's mind, the one he had been harping on after so many road games that had slipped away, was the turnover figure. In its first road victory at Florida State last month, the Pack had only seven turnovers, meaning the combined number in its two wins was just 16.
"There is not a lot to add to it," said Sendek. "It's hard to score when you don't get shots. Tonight, we really took care of the basketball. At Florida State we took care of the basketball. In the times we haven't been as successful, we didn't. That's the difference between scoring 81 points, which was enough to get a win and not scoring enough in the other games."
On Sunday, 81 was plenty and enough to give the Wolfpack a Super Sunday indeed.
