North Carolina State University Athletics
McCauley Jams Home Game-Winner Vs. Wake Forest
2/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
He had faith in Grant’s shot, but McCauley’s never been one to lag around waiting for something to happen.
So after he made the inbounds pass to Grant, he raced the length of the floor, getting to the top of the key just as Grant went up for a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds to play. McCauley, after sneaking by Wake Forest freshman James Johnson, was already air-borne, in perfect position to slam home the winning basket in the 67-65 victory at the RBC Center.
“I figured, Why not go up and see if I can get the tip-in,’” McCauley said afterwards. “No one was blocking me out. I think their whole team thought the game was over and we were going to overtime. I saw it up there and I thought I should go ahead and slam it home so it didn’t stay up there too long.
“I was so excited. It was great.”
The dunk was briefly reviewed by game officials to make sure McCauley grabbed the ball before time expired, but replays confirmed it went in with one-tenth of a second to play. By then, McCauley was already celebrating with his teammates and Grant was hanging on the basket at the other end in celebration of the Wolfpack’s fifth victory this season in its final possession. The Pack (14-7 overall, 3-4 ACC) also claimed last-second victories over Villanova, Davidson,
Sunday’s victory even over-shadowed McCauley’s greatest Super Bowl Sunday thrill the day when his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, then coached by former NC State football player Bill Cowher, beat the Seattle Seahawks two years ago when McCauley was a freshman.
It was a perfect heads-up play for the junior who had spent much of this season relegated to the bench. He’s back in the starting lineup now, but he hasn’t made the same impact as he did last year, when he averaged 14.4 points a game. He entered Sunday’s contest averaging just 5.8 points per game.
Sunday, however, McCauley and sophomore Trevor Ferguson gave an emotional lift to the dead-legged Wolfpack, which fell behind the Deacon Deacons from the outset and didn’t forge its first tie until Grant hit a 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining in the game.
The Wolfpack never led by more than three points, and missed a big opportunity to put the game away a few seconds earlier when freshman J.J. Hickson missed a pair of free throws with 13 seconds to play.
NC State coach Sidney Lowe called a time out to set up a game-winning play, with McCauley inbounding the ball to Grant, who dribbled to the right side of the court and took an open 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds to play.
“I thought the shot was going to go in,” Grant said. “All I saw was a hand, and then the ball went in the rim.”
For Lowe, it was gratifying to see McCauley, who struggled at times with his new role, make such a shot.
“Those are the kind of players you enjoy coaching and enjoy being around, when you know they are dealing with a tough situation and an adjustment period,” said Lowe, whose team returns to action Tuesday night against Virginia Tech in a 7 p.m. contest at the RBC Center. “He continued to play. He has worked hard and stuck with it and is now being rewarded for the fact that he is working hard in practice and continuing to play.”
Grant led the Wolfpack in scoring with 17 points. Junior Courtney Fells added 14 and Hickson notched his fourth consecutive double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
McCauley scored all 11 of his points in the second half. He also made one of the game’s biggest plays with 1:15 to play when
Sophomore Trevor Ferguson also gave the Wolfpack a second-half lift, coming off the bench to hit critical 3-pointer and making a pair of interceptions on defense that helped the Wolfpack slowly chip away at Wake Forest’s game-long lead.
The Deacons led from the outset, building as much as a nine-point advantage in the first half. State trailed 31-24 at intermission, and Wake was still ahead by seven with eight minutes to play.
McCauley converted a three-point play, freshman Javi Gonzalez hit one of his two 3-pointers on the day and Grant eventually hit a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 58 with 4:36 remaining.
The Deacons regained a brief lead when Johnson made a three-point play, but coach Dino Gaudio’s team went cold after that, missing six of its next seven shots down the stretch.
“We talked before the game that in order to win on the road, you have to have good shot selection,” said Gaudio, whose team shot just 39.1 percent from the field. “Our shot selection was poor at times. When we learn to recognize what’s a good shot and what’s not, our shooting percentage will go up.”
For McCauley, the only down side to the day was that his parents, who are generally fixtures on the sidelines at NC State games, decided to stay home in
“He was here for the game against Duke on Thursday,” McCauley said. “With this being a noon game on Sunday, it was kind of a quick turnaround. He probably wouldn’t want me to say this, but I think my mother had a lot to do with it.
“I am going to go call him right now and tell him, You missed a good one, dad.’”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
