North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Miami
Miami Edges NC State, 67-66
1/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Coral Gables, Fla. - NC State's suffered its third straight loss on Sunday, a defeat that will also go down as a footnote in history. Explosive guard Guillermo Diaz had 26 points and Robert Hite added 19 as Miami downed the Wolfpack 67-66. The win will forever be remembered in South Florida as the Hurricanes' first ever basketball triumph as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. But before the Convocation Center crowd of 6,067 could celebrate the historic occasion, the `Canes would have to withstand a final Pack possession that could have reversed the outcome.
With his team nursing a one-point lead and just 13 seconds left, Diaz stepped to the free throw line and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Julius Hodge, who had a double double for NC State (10-4, 0-1) with 14 points and 12 rebounds, grabbed the rebound and sprinted up the left side of the floor before play was stopped when Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek called time-out with 7.2 seconds left.
"I just thought we would have a better chance if we got set and organized," Sendek said of his decision to use a time-out. "We were looking for a drive and kick opportunity."
The Wolfpack got the ball into the hands of forward Ilian Evtimov, who led his team with 19 points. Catching the ball at the top of the key, Evtimov drove down the right side of the lane and kicked to Cameron Bennerman, whose rushed 3-point attempt banged off the side of the board and out of bounds with less than a second remaining.
Miami (10-3, 1-1) had survived, and in doing so, sent NC State to a third consecutive defeat for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
"The biggest thing for us was rebounding," Sendek said. "We just simply gave up too many second shots. Our guys battled like crazy and I give them a lot of credit. Guys were playing their hearts out. This is a tough one to lose. It really hurts."
Miami indeed hammered NC State on the glass, owning a 40-27 rebounding advantage by game's end. The Hurricanes were particularly effective on the offensive boards, where they tallied 21 second chance points on 17 offensive rebounds. The leading board-crasher was 6-9 center Anthony King, who had 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
Miami's rebounding prowess was particularly crucial in the first half when its zone defense was relatively ineffective against NC State's sharpshooters. In hitting 6-of-8 3-point shots to open the game, the Wolfpack built an early 20-10 lead. Freshman Andrew Brackman, who finished with 16 points for the game, had three early long-range bombs that got the Wolfpack off to an impressive start.
"I thought State played great, particularly early in the game," said first-year Miami coach Frank Haith. "They had us standing around a little bit."
But the Wolfpack's early advantage disappeared quickly once Diaz got hot. Making several acrobatic shots both inside and out, he led a 17-5 run over the final six minutes of the half that pulled the Hurricanes even. He capped it off with a contested 30-footer right before halftime that made it 34-34. But even when the `Canes missed shots in the first half, King and fellow frontline bruiser William Frisby would often grab rebounds that helped Miami accumulate 12 second chance points in the opening 20 minutes.
"I thought rebounding was a key," Haith said, echoing Sendek's sentiments.
Miami's late run right before halftime set up a second half in which there were four ties and seven lead changes.
A key turning point took place with just under three minutes remaining. With NC State up 61-60, Hodge saw an opening and drove through the Miami defense, only to have his left-hand layup bounce in and out. Miami scooted the other way with Diaz feeding King, who not only scored, but also added a free throw after being fouled on the play by Bennerman.
The five-point turnaround gave the Hurricanes a lead they would never again relinquish.
"Obviously, this was a great win for our program," said Haith, a Burlington native. "I saw a lot of guys play a tremendous game. There were a lot of guys who made big plays. King's three-point play was huge. I told them in the locker room that we played with poise and savvy down the stretch."
After hitting 54 percent from the floor in the opening half, NC State cooled off in the final 20 minutes and finished the game at 47 percent (24-of-51). Miami knocked down 46.6 percent of its shots (27-of-58), including 50 percent in the second half. Both teams did well from the 3-point line, with the Pack converting on 12-of-24 and Miami 8-of-20.
The game ended a tumultuous and uneven week for NC State, which saw a number of players miss significant practice time because of illness and injuries. Diagnosed with colitis on Monday, starting guard Tony Bethel did not play after missing the entire week of practice. Bothered by soreness in his right ankle and right hip, Hodge managed to log 34 minutes on Sunday. His scoring total was held down because of another tough day at the free throw line, where he was just 4-of-10.
The Pack also got a gutsy performance from guard Engin Atsur. Despite missing practice early in the week with back spasms and sitting out Saturday's workout because of a stomach virus, the sophomore managed 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the arc.
In many respects, it was NC State's best overall performance since a hard-fought loss at Washington before Christmas. But in the end, it still wasn't enough to return the Pack to the win column.
"We've got to regroup," Sendek said. "This is a tough loss and we're really going through a tough stretch right now. We're really going to be challenged to pull it together."
Challenged indeed. NC State's next two games, both at home, will be against nationally ranked Duke (Thursday night) and Georgia Tech (Sunday).
Roach to Return: With NC State ailing this week, Will Roach offered his services to return to the Wolfpack, an offer that was accepted by Sendek. The Raleigh Broughton product originally joined NC State as a walk-on four years ago. Following a redshirt year, he played for three seasons before graduating last May. After initially deciding against returning for a final year of eligibility, Roach will now report for duty, although his decision was made too late to accompany the team to Miami.
