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State turns tables on Georgia Tech
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Published: January 17, 2009
RALEIGH
N.C. State turned the tables on Georgia Tech late on its way to a 76-71 overtime win this afternoon at the RBC Center.
The Yellow Jackets seemingly had a grip on the game with a 10-point lead with less than five minutes to go, but the gritty Wolfpack outscored the Yellow Jackets 22-7 the rest of the way to win its first ACC game of the season.
Thanks to the heroics of reserve Dennis Horner, the Wolfpack improved to 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
"This was a big game for us," said Horner, who hit the go-ahead basket with 1:29 left in overtime after making a layup off a perfect pass from Ben McCauley. "Coming out here in the ACC we needed a win here, especially playing at home."
On the play Horner, who played just nine minutes but scored eight points, was fouled and he converted the free throw for the 72-71 lead. From there the Wolfpack's defense held firm and it also made some crucial free throws.
The biggest defensive play came with about 12 seconds left in overtime and the Wolfpack clinging to a two-point lead. Courtney Fells of the Wolfpack stripped Lewis Clinch of the ball just as Clinch was ready to drive to the basket near the top of the key. Horner wound up with the ball, was fouled, and made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left to push the lead to four.
Horner came into the overtime after Brandon Costner (22 points) picked up his fifth foul with 3:08 left.
"I just had to be ready and I knew Brandon had picked up his fourth and I knew if he got his fifth my number would be called," said Horner, a junior forward who has been a career role player for the Wolfpack. "I just tried to say poised and ready."
On the three-point play Horner and McCauley worked the give-and-go perfectly after Horner's defender tried to cheat toward McCauley (18 points, 10 rebounds).
"I knew my man was looking at McCauley so I just went back door and Ben hit me with a great pass and I just had to finish it for him," Horner said.
The Wolfpack have had plenty of games this season where it hasn't been able to finish. In its last game against Florida State, it was outscored 19-2 at the RBC Center.
And with five minutes to go, thanks to point guard Iman Shumpert (22 points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists), it looked like the Wolfpack was in trouble. Shumpert, a freshman, thoroughly outplayed point guards Julius Mays and Farnold Degand, but Shumpert also made some questionable plays at the end of regulation.
Degand tied the game with 31.2 seconds left in regulation by converting a three-point play. Georgia Tech's Lance Storrs took an inexplicable 3-pointer on the baseline with 16 seconds left that went off the side of the backboard but Storrs got the rebound.
With 3.4 seconds left Zachary Peacock was fouled by Costner, but Georgia Tech was not yet in the bonus. It got the ball out of bounds but Clinch missed badly and the game went into overtime.
McCauley said that the sense of urgency to get that first win in the ACC was "pretty high."
"It was that way because we had so many disappointing losses so we wanted this one, and it showed," McCauley said.
Both teams had 22 turnovers and the first half resembled the old ACC Tournament play-in game, probably because both teams were on the bottom of the conference standings when the day began.
Coach Sidney Lowe of the Wolfpack said: "I thought that was probably one of our best games in terms of just fighting to the end. Guys were playing hard, making plays and I thought we were very aggressive. And I thought our defense toward the end really got it for us, especially in the overtime."
The Yellow Jackets managed just one field goal in the final 10 minutes of both regulation and overtime.
Coach Paul Hewitt of the Yellow Jackets, whose team fell to 9-8 and 0-4 in the ACC, said: "On the road you've got to play strong down the stretch … We didn't play strong enough."
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