North Carolina State University Athletics
Relaxed Pack Whips Furman at N-S Doubleheader
2/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 1974
BY TIM PEELER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Second-ranked NC State had a little fun and got a little playful Saturday evening against Furman in the second round of the 16th-annual North-South Doubleheader.
The Wolfpack (18-1 overall) took a 111-91 victory in the contest in its second game in the popular event at the Charlotte Coliseum.
The joy was evident in a single play in which tiny point guard Monte Towe raced down the court for an uncontested layup, but instead threw the ball up in the air blindly for a trailing David Thompson, who dropped it in the basket without breaking stride.
Towe was all over the floor all night long. In addition to his 17 points, the little guard had a career-high 11 assists and three steals, running circles around the Paladin backcourt.
The play to Thompson was one of the few times in the two-day event that the All-American forward from nearby Shelby had to go full speed. He scored 26 points against the Paladins, including 17 in the second half.
In all, the Wolfpack had six players in double-figures, led by Thompson, followed by 18 from Tommy Burleson, 17 from Towe, 14 from Phil Spence, 12 from reserve Tim Soddard and 10 from Moe Rivers. It was the third time this season the Wolfpack has topped the 100-point mark.
“I like this event,” NC State coach Norm Sloan said. “People can build a social event around this and have some fun. And it’s been good for us. It’s been good to be able to play these games at this time, as a break in the conference schedule.”
Furman’s Clyde Mayes, a 6-9 junior forward, kept his team in the game throughout and finished with a Thompson-like 25 points and 19 rebounds.
“I thought we were much more relaxed and played much better than against North Carolina last night,” said Furman coach Joe Williams, whose team lost 95-69 to the Tar Heels Friday night. “The reason we play these games is to see if we can improve our own game. And tonight I saw some signs that the team may be on its way.”
The Paladins tried to stay close in the first half, cutting State’s 12-point lead under double figures on two occasions. It was down to 30-25 with 7:39 remaining in the first half. But the Wolfpack scored the final four points of the first half and took a 55-44 lead into intermission.
The Paladins never whittled the margin inside 10 points the rest of the way.
Sloan continued to tinker around with his lineup, inserting Raleigh’s Phil Spence back into the starting rotation. He stuck with the biggest lineup much of the way, and hinted at more changes to come as the Wolfpack hits the homestretch of the regular season.
“We used the big lineup because we’re trying to find the best lineup,” Sloan said. “And Spence played very well in that spot. In fact, you might start seeing David back at guard, with Spence, Stoddard and Tommy up front.”
The Pack plays its final non-conference contest of the regular season Wednesday against Davidson in a 7 p.m. contest at Reynolds Coliseum.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
