North Carolina State University Athletics
MBB Concludes Regular Season with Boston College
3/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State Hosts Boston College: For the second straight season, NC State will host Boston College on Senior Day. Pack seniors Farnold Degand and Dennis Horner will be honored before the game. The Pack will face the Eagles on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., in the only meeting between the two teams this season.
The game will be broadcasted on Raycom with Steve Martin and Eddie Fogler. The game will also be broadcast live across the Triangle in Spanish on (WCLY) 1550 AM ESPN Deportes. The production will be the first live local program broadcast on 1550 AM.
The Series Versus Boston College: Saturday's matchup with Boston College is only the 10th meeting between the two schools, but the series does date back to 1967-68. The Eagles hold a 7-2 advantage in the series, including a 4-2 mark since BC joined the ACC.
Boston College holds a 3-1 advantage in games played in Chestnut Hill, and the Eagles are also 3-1 in games in Raleigh, and also won the only meeting on a neutral site.
The two squads met at the Boston Garden Invitational on Dec. 20, 1967, with BC winning 72-55 at that neutral site. The squads then traded home-and-home games in 2003 and 2004 before BC joined the ACC, with the Eagles winning 93-81 in Raleigh (1/16/03), and also edging the Pack in overtime, 66-65, in Chestnut Hill (1/20/04).
On January 10, 2006, NC State won its lone game against BC. In fact, the Wolfpack's 18 point win (78-60) versus the No. 15 Eagles marked State's largest margin of victory against a ranked team on the road in over 50 years. The rematch that season in Raleigh was an exciting one, with the Eagles winning 74-72 in double overtime.
The Eagles returned to Raleigh and posted a 74-58 win in 2007, and in 2008 the Pack fell at BC, 82-65. Last season each team won on its home court.
Last Time Out for NC State: NC State cut a nine point halftime deficit down to two points at the first media timeout of the second half, but could never overtake the lead as Virginia Tech swept the season series, 71-59, in Blacksburg on Wednesday. Trailing 31-22 at the break, the Pack got the score down to 34-32 with 16:17 left. But NC State would go 5:02 without a basket, failing to score on eight straight possessions, as Virginia Tech went on a 11-0 run to build a 45-32 lead with 11:36 left. The Pack committed 20 turnovers on the day, and shot just 25.0 percent (4-16) from three-point range. Javier Gonzalez had a team-high 16 points, while Tracy Smith added 12 and Dennis Horner had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Last Season Versus Boston College: The two teams split last season, each winning at home.
Boston College closed out the first half on a 25-10 run and never lost the lead in the second half, as NC State fell 79-68 in Chestnut Hill on January 24. The score was tied 17-17 with 9:51 left, but BC would use that run to build a 42-27 halftime lead. After giving up the first four points of the second half, NC State scored 16 straight points and get within three points with 14:21 left, but would get no closer the rest of the way. The Eagles outrebounded the Pack 46-25, and also had 22 offensive rebounds. Tracy Smith scored 15 of his team leading 17 points in the second half, while Ben McCauley added 15 points.
On NC State's Senior Night, Ben McCauley led the Pack with team-highs of 20 points and six rebounds as the Pack defeated Boston College 74-69 at the RBC Center on March 4. With NC State up three, McCauley rebounded a missed free throw, was fouled, and converted the game clinching free throws with just 2.9 seconds left. The Pack's other starting senior, Courtney Fells, was limited to just 18 minutes with a groin injury, but scored 11 first-half points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range. Boston College started the game on a 17-9 run, but the Pack would answer with an 18-3 run and not trail the rest of the game.
Second Half Leads to Wins: Before the Pack won two of the last three ACC games, NC State had lost seven straight ACC games, and its shooting performances in the second halves of all of those games were a major factor to the outcome.
During its losing streak, NC State hit just 30.7 percent (67-218) of its second half shots in those seven straight ACC losses. NC State's best showing was 42.3 percent in the second half at North Carolina, and in five of those seven losses NC State was under 30.0 percent. The Pack's opponents combined to shoot 52.7 percent (97-184) in the second half of those games.
The Pack was also outscored 283-199 (40.4-28.4) in those second halves, as the opponent scored more than the Pack in all seven of those contests.
Things have turned around over the last three games, as the Pack won two straight. Over the last three games, the Pack has hit 49.3 percent (35-of-71) from the field, and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from three-point range in the second halves.
Against No. 23 Wake Forest, NC State was up 28-18 at the half and went 12-of-23 (.552) from the field and 5-of-7 (.714) from three-point range to secure the win. At Miami, NC State was down nine with 12:19 left to play, but made eight of its final 12 shots. In the second half, State shot 60.0 percent (12-20) from the field, and hit all three three-pointers.
Gonzalez Strong Down Stretch: Point guard Javier Gonzalez's play has been up and down this season, but now at the end of the season he is playing his best.
Over the last three games, two of which were Pack wins, Gonzalez has averaged 15.3 points and led the Pack in scoring the last two games.
Gonzalez started this stretch with 11 points and six assists in the win over No. 23 Wake Forest. At Miami, he tied his career-high with 19 points, including hitting all six free throws in the final 42.7. At Virginia Tech, Gonzalez again led the Pack in scoring, going for 16 in the loss.
