North Carolina State University Athletics
Thompson's 45 Leads White to OT Victory
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 1973
BY TIM PEELER
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. Fans who showed up at Rocky Mount Senior High Wednesday night to see NC State basketball’s state-wide tour got more basketball than they paid for, thanks to David Thompson.
And that is only fitting, since he’s the guy most of the 2,200 sold-out crowd came to see anyway.
After helping his team erase a double-digit second-half deficit, Thompson scored a basket in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. Then the All-America junior led the White team to an easy 107-99 win in the extra period, to complete the second of six Red &White games Norm Sloan and his team are playing throughout North Carolina.
Thompson finished the game with 45 points, hitting 18 of his 30 shots on the night. Meanwhile, newcomer Phil Spence, a Raleigh native who transferred back home from Vincennes (Ind.) Junior College, added 28 for the White team, making 13 of his 14 field goal attempts. Junior guard Monte Towe had 16 points and junior forward Tim Stoddard had 12.
“David was sensational, as usual,” Sloan said. “David is a stronger player and a better player this season than last.”
The Red team, which jumped out to a 23-9 advantage over the Thompson-led Whites, was led by senior center Tommy Burleson’s 39 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Greg Hawkins added 22 points, while newcomer Moe Rivers scored 16 and Steve Nuce had 10.
The Reds were still ahead by 10 points, 71-61, with 12 minutes to play, but Thompson brought his team back within one on a variety of jumpers, lay-ups and hard-to-believe moves that delighted the 2,200 spectators in the high school gym. His three-point play with 2:46 remaining tied the game at 87-87, and Towe, the plucky point guard, gave the White team its first lead of the game a few seconds later.
Thompson tied the game at 93 at the end of regulation, then teamed with Spence to score 10 of the White team's 14 points in overtime to easily claim the victory.
The next game is Friday night at Thompson’s prep alma mater, Crest High School in Shelby. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m.
“This tour has been super,” Sloan said of the three-week jaunt around the state, which will end up in Raleigh. “I feel it’s good to play these games because a player gains a lot from playing a simulated game under actual game conditions with officials and crowds. We’ve learned a lot about our team from the first two games.
“In Greensboro, we found out that our offense and our defense is not as well-coordinated as we thought. It showed us we needed to divide the team more equally. Overall, the games are showing us many specific things we can work on. We were improved over Greensboro at Rocky Mount, where we found other things to work on.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
Official Basketball Box Score
Red vs. White
11/14/1973 at Rocky Mount High School, Rocky Mount, N.C.
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VISITORS: WHITE
## Player Name FG-FGA FT-FTA R PF TP
44 Thompson, David 18-30 9-12 7 3 45
42 Stoddard, Tim 6-12 0-0 7 4 12
30 Spence, Phil 13-14 2-4 5 2 28
25 Towe, Monte 5-10 6-6 0 3 16
10 Kuszmaul, Craig 2-3 0-0 1 1 4
17 Smith, Steve 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
16 Lake, Bill 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
9 Johnson, Dwight 1-2 0-0 1 1 2
TEAM
Totals.............. 45-71 17-22 21 14 107
TOTAL FG% Game: 63.4 %.
FT% Game: 77.3%
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HOME: RED
## Player Name FG-FGA FT-FTA R PF TP
14 Hawkins, Greg 9-15 4-5 5 3 22
52 Nuce, Steve 5-7 0-0 2 5 10
24 Burleson, Tommy 17-24 5-9 17 3 39
40 Moeller, Mark 2-3 0-0 0 2 4
10 Rivers, Morris 8-20 0-1 0 2 16
12 Gehring, Ken 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
14 Hunt, Jerry 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
11 Buurma, Mike 3-3 2-4 4 2 8
15 Dayhuff, Bruce 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
TEAM
Totals.............. 44-74 11-19 26 17 99
TOTAL FG% Game: 59.5%.
FT% Game: 57.9%.
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Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: Nuce.
Score by Periods 1st 2nd -- Total
White 39 54 -- 107
Red 41 52 -- 99
