North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack's Second Half Blitzes Athletes in Action
12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 1973
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. For a half, NC State let Athletes in Action stay within striking distance.
But, it turns out, the second-ranked Wolfpack was just toying with the traveling all-star team. David Thompson and Company turned on the after-burners in the second half and easily won the contest 119-82 in front of 11,300 fans at Reynolds Coliseum Saturday night.
It was the final warm-up for head coach Norm Sloan’s team, following a six-game intra-squad exhibition tour of the state. The Wolfpack begins the season for real on Wednesday against East Carolina, in an 8 p.m. game at Reynolds.
Saturday, the Wolfpack led 55-45 at the half, but could not shake the former college stars, who travel the country playing exhibition games on behalf of the Campus Crusade for Christ. Among the team's top players were 6-11 center Charlie Tharp of Bellhaven College and 6-10 forward Roy Stiff of Brown University.
“We didn’t move the ball in the first half,” Sloan said. “We sort of forced things.”
But the second half was all Wolfpack, as All-Americans Thompson and Tommy Burleson led the team on a sizzling 35-14 scoring run in the first 10 minutes of the second half to build a 90-59 advantage. For the second half, the Wolfpack made 65 percent of its shots from the field.
“Tommy and David both played very well,” said Sloan of the two players who combined for 66 of the Pack’s points.
Burleson blocked shots, rebounded and had 22 points in the first half alone. He finished the game with 32 points and 17 rebounds, a key reason the Wolfpack owned a 60-29 advantage on the boards.
Thompson was even better, with his usual array of jumpers, high-flying near dunks and hustle for loose balls. He finished the warm-up contest with a game-high 34 points, making 15 of his 23 attempts from the field.
Junior forward Tim Stoddard added 14 points and junior point guard Monte Towe had 10. Raleigh-native Phil Spence, a junior college transfer, came off the bench to score nine.
It was not a particularly good showing for the Pack’s other junior college newcomer, Moe Rivers, who is expected to join Towe in NC State’s backcourt. He missed three shots from the field, three shots from the foul line and committed three fouls.
That didn’t matter much to Sloan, who guided his team to a perfect 27-0 record last season and the school’s seventh ACC Championship. He was pleased with the overall performance, especially given his preseason concerns about his team’s defense.
“The game was good from our viewpoint,” said the coach. “I’m glad we played it, because I think it helped us a lot. It let us know some of the things we still have to work on.
“And we did some good things too. Our defense looked very good at times. It was encouraging.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
