Georgia Tech grabbed firmly onto a lead and wouldn't let go no matter what N.C. State did on Wednesday night in an 82-71 win at the RBC Center.
By hitting the offensive boards after halftime and playing patiently in the final seven minutes to take time off the clock and force N.C. State to foul, Georgia Tech handed Brian Gregory his first ACC win as its coach.
The decision gave Mark Gottfried his first ACC loss as the Wolfpack's coach.
Georgia Tech led 49-40 in the second half, after building a 40-29 halftime lead, when a critical moment came.
C.J. Williams tried to shoot a layup for N.C. State, but his shot was blocked by Daniel Miller of Georgia Tech. Gottfried wanted a foul and protested, and he was warned by official Rogers Ayers to calm down. Gottfried took off the jacket to his suit and tossed it aside, and Ayers called the technical.
"I don't think it was for throwing the jacket," Gottfried said. "I can take my jacket off any time I'd like to. That's my prerogative."
Glen Rice made both free throws to boost Georgia Tech's lead to 11 points. Rice then hit a fading 16-foot jumper on the right side on the inbounds play and was fouled by Lorenzo Brown. Rice made the free throw for a 54-40 lead with 11:58 left.
Boos filled the arena when play stopped for an official timeout. Gottfried walked out onto the playing floor near midcourt and motioned for Ayers, who was standing on the baseline farthest from the N.C. State bench, to come over for a talk.
Ayers shook his head and did not move. The boos grew louder. N.C. State never came closer than 11 points in the next six minutes, and Georgia Tech carried a 76-59 lead into the final 1:57.
Gottfried said the officials never explained the technical foul to him.
"Nope, I never got an explanation," Gottfried said. "I asked repeatedly and never got one. I never had any communication after that from them, and that's a little bit frustrating on my side."
Gottfried said that the technical did not cause N.C. State to lose.
"Let me say this clearly: the officials, that didn't cost us the game," Gottfried said. "My take on all that is my team has to play better. I'm not into excuses."
N.C. State fell to 12-5 overall, had a six-game winning streak snapped, and dropped to 1-1 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets improved to 8-8 and 1-1.
"They made some tough shots," Williams said. "They made shots with pressure on them. They made contested shots.
"That's all you can really ask for, to contest the shots and make them uncomfortable. You've got to give them credit. They played well and we didn't. We definitely could have played a lot better."
C.J. Leslie led N.C. State with 16 points despite drawing his fourth foul with 13:20 left. He added seven rebounds. All of N.C. State's starters scored at least 10 points, but the bench contributed only five points.
Rice led Georgia Tech off the bench with 22 points and made three 3-point shots.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement