North Carolina State University Athletics
Horner, Wolfpack Overtake Yellow Jackets in OT, 76-71
1/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. With so many injury-induced changes to the NC State’s lineup this season, there are no surprises when someone is different to called upon to step up and make a big contribution for the Wolfpack.
So when junior Brandon Costner fouled out of Saturday’s overtime game against Georgia Tech, taking his team-high 22 points and seven rebounds to the bench, no one on the court for the Wolfpack had any doubts that junior Dennis Horner could come in and give the team a boost.
Coach Sidney Lowe’s team had come back from a 10-point deficit with five minutes to play in regulation, thanks to a furious rally that ended when junior point guard Farnold Degand converted a three-point play with 37.7 seconds remaining to tie the game. Georgia Tech then missed two shots that could have won the game on their final possession of regulation.
Costner fouled out with 3:08 remaining in overtime, forcing Horner into the lineup. But when the Pack found itself with the shot clock running down, Horner cut through the lane and caught a no-look pass from Ben McCauley for a layup and a foul. He also converted the three-point play and added three more free throws in overtime to seal the 76-71 victory at the RBC Center.
Two of his free throws came after senior teammate Courtney Fells knocked the ball out of would-be hero Lewis Clinch’s hands into Horner’s arms, as the Yellow Jackets were looking to take the lead.
Horner scored six of his eight points in the game in the extra period, as the Wolfpack (10-5 overall, 1-2 ACC) outscored the Yellow Jackets 9-4 in overtime to break an 11-game losing streak to ACC opponents.
“Everyone gets their shot to contribute and when you get that opportunity you have to go in there and perform,” Horner said. “I knew I had to come in and play hard the way Brandon was playing. We couldn’t drop off at all.”
The hook-up with McCauley was perfectly executed: Horner knew to expect a fancy pass from his senior teammate, but the Yellow Jackets weren’t looking for such a play, even though it resulted in McCauley’s game-high sixth assist of the game.
“That was a huge play,” Horner said. “Ben saw me coming and he put the pass right there for me. All I had to do was lay it in. It was a perfect no-look pass right in my hands.”
For McCauley, who 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with his game-high assists, there was no hesitation making the pass to Horner.
“When Brandon went out, I really wasn’t all that worried,” McCauley said. “I knew Dennis would come in and make plays. Sure enough, he came in and had that and-one layup and got us going in overtime.”
The Wolfpack, trailing 64-54 with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, needed a furious rally to force the extra period. But in a reversal from Tuesday night’s finish against Florida State, the Wolfpack played strong defense, forced multiple turnovers and got back in the game behind the scoring of McCauley and Costner.
“We needed to change the momentum of the game, so we went to the three-quarter court zone press,” Lowe said. “It really got our energy going and got the momentum back in our favor.”
After the Wolfpack defense forced three consecutive turnovers, Degand converted the game-tying three-point play.
NC State built a five-point lead early in the second half, on the scoring of upper classmen Costner and McCauley. But Clinch hit four 3-pointers in a five-minute span to help the Yellow Jackets build its double-digit lead.
The Yellow Jackets (9-8, 0-4) were led by Shumpert’s 22 points, followed by 18 for Clinch and 11 by Gani Lawal.
Trailing 35-34 heading into the second half, the Wolfpack grabbed a quick lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Costner coming out of intermission.
McCauley scored seven straight points for the Pack, five of them on the free-throw line. McCauley’s left-handed dunk with 11:46 remaining pushed the Pack’s lead back to five points, its biggest margin of the contest.
That’s when Clinch hit the first of his net-searing outside shots. His shot with 8:31 remaining gave the Yellow Jackets the lead, and he added two more as Tech pushed its late lead to as many as 10 points.
Neither the Wolfpack or Yellow Jackets could establish true control in the ragged and jagged first half, in which the two teams combined for 26 turnovers.
Georgia Tech led by as many as six points with a little over two minutes remaining, but Ferguson, who has been hampered with a broken bone in his non-shooting hand, came off the bench to drain a pair of 3-pointers from the corner to pull his team within 35-34 at intermission.
“The versatility of this team is amazing,” Ferguson said. “We can put so many different people in and have so many different lineups. We feel comfortable playing with each other, no matter what lineup is in. It really showed today.
“We are a team and all we want to do is win.”
For the first time this season, Lowe put his two freshmen, point guard Julius Mays and swingman C.J. Williams, in the starting lineup, it’s eighth different lineup combo in 15 games.
The Wolfpack travels to Duke Tuesday at 8 p.m. to face the No. 2 Blue Devils.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
