North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
#5 Duke
Duke Comes Back to Down Pack, 78-73
2/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2012
Raleigh, N.C. - NC State played perhaps its best half of basketball of the season, but a ferocious Duke comeback helped the No. 5 Blue Devils come away with a 78-73 win Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Lorenzo Brown led the Pack with 19 points, his highest total in eight games, while Alex Johnson came off the bench to play 33 minutes and finished with a season-high 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range. C.J. Leslie finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
The Wolfpack (18-8, 7-4 ACC) built its lead to as many as 20 points in the second half. But three Pack starters all picked up four fouls before the midway point of the second half, and the Blue Devils (22-4, 9-2) made its comeback closing out the game on a 37-12 run.
"Well, I would say a tough night for us, a tough finish," said NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. "We have to be better late in the game. I thought probably, if you look at it for us, I thought our foul trouble really strapped us and made it difficult."
State started the game on a 16-4 run, with Duke going just 2-of-17 from the field over the first 8:30 of the game. Duke missed its first nine three-point attempts, while State fired in five of its first six attempts from long range.
State's biggest lead of the first half was 44-25 at the 1:53 mark, and the Pack also went into the half with the same 16-point lead (46-30). By contrast, the Pack was down by 29 at the half in last year's matchup in Durham.
Despite C.J. Williams picking up his second foul and being forced to the bench at the 18:26 mark of the first half, the Pack's defense started strong. Duke came up empty on its first six possessions and started the game 1-of-6 before the first media timeout.
Williams was limited to only five minutes in the first half, as he picked up three fouls. Johnson filled in for Williams, as he played 18 minutes (never subbing out after coming in at 18:26) and had 11 points and three assists in the first half.
State's offense put up 46 points in the first half, shooting 54.8 percent (17-31) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-9) from three-point range.
"I thought we were very aggresive (in the first half)," said Gottfried. "I am proud of my team. We came in here and we proved we are a good team."
Those shooting numbers went down in the second 20 minutes, as NC State hit just 9-of-28 shots, and missed both of its three-point attempts. Duke in contrast went 6-of-15 from long range in the second half, compared to just 2-of-14 in the first 20 minutes.
After Brown opened the second half with a long two-pointer, Duke went on a 7-0 run and closed the score to within 11 at 48-37.
The Pack answered, with DeShawn Painter hitting a pair of free throws which started a 13-4 State run and rebuilt its lead to 61-41 at the 11:33 mark. In the middle of the run, Leslie joined Williams on the bench with four fouls at the 14:42 mark.
After the Pack posted its biggest lead of the night at 20 points, Richard Howell joined Leslie and Williams on the bench when he picked up his fourth foul with 10:33 left.
With the Pack saddled with foul trouble, Duke went on a 11-0 run and held the Pack without a point for over six minutes until Brown's layup at 8:30 made the score 63-52.
After the teams traded baskets, the Blue Devils answered with another run, 11-2 this time to close the game to 69-66. Leslie came out of a timeout and collected an offensive rebound and his put back stopped the run at 3:41, but that proved to be the Pack's final basket of the game.
Over the final 6:04 of the game, Duke closed the game with a 20-5 run. Austin Rivers' three-pointer with 2:19 gave Duke its first lead of the game at 72-71, and the Blue Devils hit all six of their free throw attempts to close the game out.
Howell (1:22) and Leslie (1:05) eventually fouled out, while Williams was limited to just three points in 12 minutes before also fouling out in the final seconds.
The Pack wore black uniforms for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
NC State will make a quick turnaround, as the Pack hosts No. 20 Florida State Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the RBC Center.
