Tracy Smith would rather forget the better part of 39 minutes of last night's game between N.C. State and Auburn, but he more than made up for his struggles in the end.
Smit h scored on an offensive rebound with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Wolfpack to a 60-58 victory in the Glenn Wilkes Classic.
"I can't remember a night like that," said Smith, a 6-8 junior, who missed 14 of his first 16 field-goal attempts but was still selected the tournament MVP. "I was getting fouled and getting beat up. But I kept my head in the game, and I was focused."
Smith put the Wolfpack (4-0) up 57-56 on a three-point play with 50 seconds to go. Javier Gonzalez split two free throws before Auburn (2-3) tied the game with 12 seconds remaining on Lucas Hargrove's basket.
On N.C. State's final possession, Julius Mays missed a 3-point shot, but Smith, who finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, was in position to grab the loose ball.
"I was praying that I made it," he said. "I just went up, and I got it."
N.C. State got 16 points from Dennis Horner.
"I learned that when we do what we're supposed to do, we can be pretty effective," Coach Sidney Lowe said. "And we've shown that we're capable of doing certain things. Now, can we do that for a 40-minute stretch?"
N.C. STATE
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF PTS
Wood 35 4-9 1-1 3-6 2 3 10
TSmith 32 4-18 3-6 7-15 0 2 11
Horner 29 6-13 2-2 0-5 2 2 16
Williams 26 3-6 0-0 3-4 2 2 6
Gonzalez 32 3-9 3-4 2-6 6 1 10
Painter 10 0-2 2-3 1-1 0 0 2
Vandnbrg 9 0-1 0-0 1-3 0 0 0
Davis 5 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Mays 22 1-4 2-2 1-1 1 2 5
Totals 200 21-63 13-18 19-43 13 12 60
Percentages: FG .333, FT .722. 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263 (Horner 2-4, Gonzalez 1-4, Mays 1-4, Wood 1-5, Williams 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 2 (Wood, Horner). Turnovers: 11 (Gonzalez 4, Mays 2, Wood 2, Painter, Horner, T.Smith). Steals: 6 (T.Smith 2, Wood, Vandenberg, Gonzalez, Williams).
AUBURN
Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF PTS
Hargrove 36 4-6 1-1 2-7 2 4 9
Lett 21 3-6 0-4 4-6 1 1 6
Reed 38 3-11 1-4 0-8 4 1 9
Sullivan 36 7-14 1-1 1-4 4 1 21
Ross 20 1-5 0-0 1-6 1 2 2
Malone 23 1-7 1-2 0-2 0 1 4
Armstrong 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Neysmith 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Knox 22 3-4 1-3 2-2 0 4 7
Totals 200 22-53 5-15 11-36 12 18 58
Percentages: FG .415, FT .333. 3-Point Goals: 9-23, .391 (Sullivan 6-11, Reed 2-5, Malone 1-3, Ross 0-2, Hargrove 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 7 (Knox 3, Sullivan 2, Reed, Lett). Turnovers: 15 (Reed 4, Hargrove 3, Sullivan 2, Knox 2, Malone, Lett, Ross, Neysmith). Steals: 4 (Knox 2, Lett, Reed).
N.C. State 26 34 -- 60
Auburn 25 33 -- 58
A--616.
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