North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack Pulls Double Duty Again
2/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2006
By Tony Haynes
Miami - Prior to knocking off Clemson back on the 29th of January, NC State hadn't participated in a double overtime contest since 1996, which was the year before Herb Sendek arrived as the Wolfpack's head coach. But the modern day version of the `Cardiac Pack' made sure 10 years wouldn't go by before the Pack played in another double OT game again. In fact, it took just 10 days for NC State to find itself in the same situation. And just as it did at Clemson last month, the Wolfpack found a way to gut out yet another dramatic victory. The latest victim is Miami, which crawled back from a 15-point deficit to tie it before succumbing to the Pack's continued resiliency.
NC State's 86-77 win in Coral Gables on Wednesday night was big for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the impact the game has on the ACC standings. With a victory, the Hurricanes - who came in with a three-game ACC winning streak - could have tied NC State for the second place. But regardless of what predicament it finds itself in, this Wolfpack team seems to almost always finds a way to escape. Now 19-4 overall and 8-2 in league play, the Pack has pushed itself two games in front of everyone else in the standings.
"It's just a great group of guys who showed tremendous heart and constitution," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek, whose team finished off its fourth straight down-to-the-wire win. "It's so hard to have a lead like we did, lose it and have the game go into overtime. To get off the floor for not one, but two overtimes, that just shows tremendous heart and courage."
For 30 minutes on Wednesday, Sendek's team couldn't have played much better. Refusing to allow Miami guards Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite to come off screens and catch and shoot for 3-point shots, the Pack played sticky man-to-man team defense. Coming into the game, the Hurricanes had turned the ball over just 11 times per game against ACC competition, but in the first half alone against NC State, they had 12.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack's 3-point marksmen were on target, hitting 9-of-16 3s in building an 11-point first half lead. NC State then continued its offensive efficiency over the first 10 minutes of the second half, building a lead that would reach 15 on two occasions.
But then the game, and the momentum, changed. It changed when Miami coach Frank Haith, frustrated by his team's inability to get open shots out of its regular offense, scrapped the system and went to something new. Putting four guards on the floor at the same time, Haith had Diaz and point guard Anthony Harris attack the basket off the dribble.
"They went small, which forced us to play all kinds of difference line-ups," Sendek said. "They literally had four guards on the court. They had the floor completely spread and they were using 1-4 low; they were using some dribble weave; they were using some ball-screens. Sometimes it seemed like time was added to the clock they were scoring so fast. We just had a difficult time keeping them out of the paint and defending them. They also during that period made some incredible shots."
It was a strategy that allowed Miami to score on 14 of its last 17 possessions after it had trailed 53-38 at the 10:33 mark of the second half.
On the other end of the court, the Pack became cautious and cold. And when Diaz made an acrobatic layup with nine seconds left, the game was headed for overtime. After playing so well, so poised and so together for much of the game, NC State somehow had to muster enough energy enthusiasm to regroup and play another period.
Actually, make that two extra periods.
"I'm not going to lie to you; I was pretty tired," said Ilian Evtimov, when asked how difficult it was to regroup after losing the big lead. "I just looked at coach [Sendek] and he was smiling. That right there gave me great confidence that we've been there before and that we could accomplish this task."
And while Miami's rally couldn't break Evtimov, it may have been his huge 3-pointer to start the second overtime that finally broke Miami. The Pack would go on to outscore the `Canes 11-2 in the second extra period to secure victory.
Cameron Bennerman's 23-point effort included a clutch 8-of-9 touch from the free throw line. Sophomore Gavin Grant came off the bench to finish with 13, making six straight pressure free throws with the outcome very much in doubt. But as is usually the case with this NC State team, everyone who played contributed to the Wolfpack's third ACC road win.
That's what it takes when a team pulls double duty.
