North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Edges Gamecocks, 63-61
11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
With the win, NC State advances to the title game of the Old Spice Classic on Sunday to play the winner of Friday evening’s contest between George Mason and Villanova.
“Just walking off the elevator [after the game], Coach Odom said to me that our team showed a lot of poise, and we did,” said Lowe. “We executed our plays down the stretch and got the shots we wanted. It’s a great win for us.”
The Pack was led by forward Brandon Costner, who finished with 21 points on a 6-of-12 shooting touch from the floor. None of Costner’s points were bigger than a 3-pointer from the top of the key that broke a 58-58 tie with 2:25 remaining.
Setting up shoulder to shoulder with freshman J.J. Hickson, Costner screened and stepped back, while Hickson rolled to the basket. When Farnold Degand came off the screen and looked back to deliver the pass, Costner was wide open.
His rainbow three hit nothing but net.
“J.J. and I set a double ball screen and he rolled,” Costner said. “Both of the men went with him and I was open for the three. I just stepped up and knocked it down.”
When Costner drained a pair of free throws with 1:02 remaining, the Wolfpack grabbed its biggest lead of the game at 63-58.
Following a Costner miss inside with 35 seconds left, Wolfpack point guard Farnold Degand made the defensive play of the game when he recovered back to his man and blocked South Carolina point guard Devan Downey’s driving layup attempt with 26 seconds to play.
Following a timeout, the Pack played tight defense again, forcing a contested runner by guard Zam Frederick in the lane that caromed off the rim. Pack guard Courtney Fells grabbed the rebound and raced the other way, running out the clock in the process to give NC State its second win in as many days.
Degand, the first-year point guard, was one of the stories of the game, scoring a career-high 14 points to go along with three assists and only one turnover in 35 minutes. He also outplayed
“This tournament has been great for his experience,” Lowe said of Degand. “It’s going to pay off for him down the road. He had to play against
The Pack also got a great contribution from sophomore Dennis Horner, who never got off the bench during Thursday’s victory over Rider. Hitting three of his four shots, Horner scored all six of his points in the second half and jumped on a loose ball before calling a timeout to give NC State a big possession with 1:22 remaining. The play was huge since it led to Costner’s two free throws that put the Pack up by five. “I told Dennis this morning to be ready,” Lowe said. “He was ready to go and it worked out pretty well. I’m looking for those eight guys that I know that I can count on. He did an unbelievable job today. He finished the game; he was playing so well I left him in there. I want that to be a message to our guys that when you’re playing well and you’re helping us, I’m going to keep you in the game.” Subbing for senior Gavin Grant at the small forward spot, Horner ended up playing 22 minutes, two more than Grant. NC State won despite being hammered on the offensive glass. With 76 shot attempts, the Gamecocks put up 30 more than NC State, but managed to hit only 32.9 percent of those attempts. The Wolfpack hit 54.5 percent in the second half and finished 22-of-46 for 47.8 percent. Guard Zam Frederick, a Georgia Tech transfer, also had 12 points to join After a day off on Saturday, NC State will get a chance to snag an early season title when it plays Sunday night at 6:30. “It would be great [to win],” Lowe said. “I think it will tell us a little about ourselves and that we are moving in the right direction. We started off a little slow and we still have room for improvement, but winning a championship this early gives you that confidence and lets you know that we’re capable of doing something like this.”
