North Carolina State University Athletics
Grant's FTs lift Wolfpack Over Davidson, 66-65
12/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
Grant was fouled with 3.9 seconds remaining in Friday night’s game against Davidson, with the Wolfpack trailing by one. He hit both free throws, sandwiched around a Wildcat timeout, to give the Pack a 66-65 advantage.
But unlike the first time, when hit three free throws to beat Villanova in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, there was time for one more possession by the opponent.
And, after having already lost a game when
“It scared me a little when [Stephen] Curry took that shot,” Lowe said. “I was thinking, Not again.’ But, thank God, we were able to pull this one off.”
The Wolfpack (6-3) knew the Davidson sophomore, the son of former NBA player Dell Curry who had already scored 29 points in the contest, would take the final shot; they just tried to find a way to make it as low percentage as possible.
Still, Curry dribbled the ball one step past mid-court and let fly a one-handed jumper that bounced off the right side of the rim, leaving the Wolfpack with its second consecutive home win.
“We wanted Farnold [Degand] or Courtney [Fells] to make their guards come get the ball, and then Brandon Costner was going to be there to help him so he couldn’t get a straight-line drive,” Lowe said. “We did the first part right and then we let him reverse the dribble and get around us and get off a pretty good shot.
“We are supposed to keep him in that little trap. He got away and got a good shot.”
One that had State’s players with a lump in their throats.
“I, unfortunately, had to watch the ball hit the rim and make my heart drop,” junior Ben McCauley said. “Fortunately, it didn’t go in, but it had perfect rotation. You never know with that kid, because he is a great shooter. Man, I didn’t want to go through that again.”
The Wolfpack missed its first opportunity for a game-winning shot on its last possession when McCauley, who played his best game of the season, missed a shot in the lane. Grant got the rebound and was fouled by Davidson’s Thomas Sander for a two-shot foul as he went up in the lane.
“I had the ball in my hands and it slipped out and I thought, Man, I can’t lose this ball,’ Grant said. “I just knew I had to go up because they were going to have to make a call with four defenders in there. I just tried to get it up to the rim.
“When I got to the line, I was just like, I have to make these two.’ Once I made one, I felt easy about the second one.”
In the final two minutes, the Wolfpack twice had possessions in which it missed two shots to take control of the game. Curry, who scored 26 points in the game’s first 29 minutes, twice missed contested jumpers that would have tied the game.
Lowe called timeout with 1:15 remaining to set up a play, but the Wolfpack for the second time in the game had trouble getting the ball inbounds. Curry made the Pack pay by getting open off a screen to hit a 3-pointer with 43.5 seconds to play to give the Wildcats their first lead since the 14:52 mark of the first half.
Grant led the Wolfpack with 15 points on the night, followed by sophomore Brandon Costner with 13, McCauley with 11 and freshman J.J. Hickson with 10.
Curry and Jason Richard, with 14 points, were the only Wildcats in double figures.
The Wolfpack took its biggest lead of the game when sophomore Dennis Horner found himself open under the basket for a double-pump layup and a foul. He converted the three-point play with 13:49 remaining in the contest for a 47-39 lead.
But with Curry on the floor, the Wildcats (4-6) were never more than two possessions out of the game. He quickly cut the lead to five, but junior Courtney Fells answered with a 3-pointer of his own. Richards and Bryant Barr also hit 3-pointers that helped keep the Wildcats within three.
Davidson’s outside shooting kept the game close throughout, as Barr and Richards took advantage of the defensive attention put on Curry in the second half to make a trio of 3-pointers. The Wildcats hit eight of 15 long-range shots in the second half.
But Davidson only hit 39.3 percent of its field goals on the night and the Wolfpack its best rebounding effort of the season, with a 40-25 advantage on the boards.
In the first half, Curry had 15 points to lead the Wildcats, while Costner had 10 for the Wolfpack. State led by as many as seven points, but could never put Davidson in its rear-view mirror, holding a 30-26 lead at intermission.
The Wolfpack has a short turnaround before its next game: the Wolfpack hosts
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
