North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Tops Presbyterian For 6th Straight Win
1/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
But the bottom line from NC State’s 50-43 victory over Presbyterian Saturday afternoon at the
“We have won six in a row, right?” said senior Gavin Grant. “I thought maybe [the way some people are acting] we had lost six in a row.”
The low-scoring, fast-played game was unusual, especially since the Wolfpack (10-3) wasn’t whistled for its first foul until just 12:50 remained on the clock. For the entire game, head coach Sidney Lowe’s team committed just five fouls against Presbyterian’s deliberate, ball-control offense.
It was unusual that freshman J.J. Hickson, who scored 33 in the Wolfpack’s last outing, had a season-low four points the entire game against the Blue Hose’s collapsing 2-3 zone. The Wolfpack didn’t help itself by making just one of 11 3-point attempts in the first half, settling in frustration for outside shots instead of getting the ball to its bigger interior players.
All-in-all, there wasn't much excitement on the court for the 13,793 spectactors on hand, but as Grant pointed out on several occasions the execution wasn't nearly as important as the outcome.
“People may have expected us to win by 30,” said Grant, who had a game-high 14 points and six rebounds. “It doesn’t always happen like that. It’s not scripted. You have to go out and play the game. They played a pretty good game. They stuck to their game plan. They made it tough for us.”
Teammate Courtney Fells admitted, however, that the Wolfpack needed to come out of the gates with more energy, something the coaching staff has stressed for several weeks now. Instead, Sidney Lowe’s team opened the game shooting poorly from the outside and trailed at the half, 20-17.
“We have to come out and play, whether it is
“But they are stressing why not do that in the first half and get the other team out of here?”
Lowe was pleased with the way his team played defensively throughout the game, but was particularly impressed with a stretch with about five minutes to play, when the Wolfpack forced back-to-back shot-clock violations and junior Ben McCauley stole the ball away in the lane.
The Wolfpack shot better in the second half 10-for-17 overall from the field and 5-for-7 from 3-point range to wrest the lead away from the Blue Hose (1-18). Fells hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the second half to snatch the lead away from the Blue Hose, but it was a low-scoring game from start to finish.
“It started with the defensive end,” Lowe said. “Then we made a couple of shots from the perimeter. Javi [Gonzalez] finally started to look to shoot the ball. Courtney hit a couple of big ones.
“Defensively, I thought we were solid throughout the whole game, really. Offensively we struggled in the first half, but I thought we got better.”
The Wolfpack did not commit its first foul until the 12:50 mark in the second half and had only five in the whole game. Neither team shot a free throw in the deliberately paced first half.
The Wolfpack, playing without reserve sophomore Dennis Horner, had contributions from nine players, as Lowe tinkered with his lineups during the contest. Horner, who suffered a sprained ankle during practice this week, was in street clothes on the bench, along with injured point guard Farnold Degand, who is out for the rest of the season with torn knee ligaments.
“We are hoping to get Dennis back before [next Saturday’s ACC opener against
The Pack plays its final non-conference tune-up against North Carolina Central Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
