North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Stanford
Men's Basketball Falls at Stanford, 76-72
12/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2011
Stanford, Calif. (AP) - C.J. Williams had 18 points and C.J. Lesliescored 14 to help the Wolfpack (5-3) build leads of 11 and 12 in each half only to see both disappear in the 76-72 loss to Stanford on Sunday.
This was absolutely a missed opportunity," said NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. "This team has to learn how to finish, and we have to get tougher. It's real simple. We did a lot of things well, we executed our offense at times extremely well. We defended at times extremely well.
"But at the same time, not having Calvin (Leslie) down the stretch and not having Scott Wood certainly puts you at a disadvantage. Both those two guys were playing well. But there are no excuses. Whoever you have on the floor, you have to be better. You have to defend a little better and run the offense a little better and get the better shots. It's frustrating because I think this team is close. But until we learn that, we'll be sitting here doing the same thing every game."
Josh Owens scored 19 points and Chasson Randle had 16 to rally Stanford from a dozen down in the second half.
The pair led a 17-1 run in the final six minutes that pushed the Cardinal (8-1) ahead for the first and only time. Owens had 10 points during the critical stretch and Randle made four free throws to keep Stanford perfect at home this season.
This is a tough one to take," said senior C.J. Williams. "It definitely was a physical game. They pounded us on the boards in the first half but we were able to hit 'em right back in the second half. But they found a way to beat us late in the game. We knew we had to play this team for 40 minutes. We didn't do that."
