RALEIGH — N.C. State's marketing campaign proclaims, "This is our State."
After Saturday's six-years-in-the-making win over North Carolina, it's at least the Wolfpack's Triangle. N.C. State handled the Tar Heels 91-83 in front of an electric, sold out crowd at PNC Arena.
With 20 points and 11 assists from junior guard Lorenzo Brown, No. 18 N.C. State ended a 13-game losing streak to the Tar Heels (13-6, 3-3 ACC), who had entered the game with 19 wins in 20 games in the series under coach Roy Williams.
Both forwards Richard Howell (16 points and 14 rebounds) and C.J. Leslie (17 and 10) added double-doubles for N.C. State.
It couldn't be the Wolfpack's "state" without wins over UNC or Duke. The Pack (16-4, 5-2 ACC) has now handled both blue neighbors but lost at Wake Forest on Tuesday. All of the defensive deficiencies and inconsistencies from recent road losses to Wake and Maryland went by the wayside on Saturday night.
UNC got 19 points from guard P.J. Hairston and cut what was a 28-point lead down to five in the final minute but N.C. State made all six of its free throws in the final 30.7 seconds to seal the win.
N.C. State needed to get rid of the "nonsense" from Tuesday's collapse at Wake Forest, Brown said, and the Wolfpack was all business in building a 28-point lead in the second half, in an almost surreal identity swap from what has been the norm between the two programs.
Williams' teams have routinely beaten State with the type of playmaking from a point guard like Brown displayed on Saturday. Brown seized control of the game against UNC freshman point guard Marcus Paige, who missed his first eight shots.
Brown's layup at 13:18 made it 61-33 and it looked like the Wolfpack would cruise to its first win over UNC since Feb.3, 2007.
Instead, UNC chipped away at the margin, mostly from the outside. Hairston and Reggie Bullock knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to cut the Pack's lead to 70-59. Paige made both of his free throws at 5:22 to get within single digits for the first time since the 6-minute mark in the first half.
A four-point play from N.C. State senior Scott Wood with 4:18 to play seemed to quell UNC's momentum and pushed the Pack's lead back to 78-63 but UNC kept coming.
Hairston hit a 3 with 1:00 left and then James Michael McAdoo's follow-up dunk with 30.7 left cut the Pack's lead to 85-80. Scott Wood and Brown made the next six free throws to avoid an epic meltdown.
State used a 21-2 run to take control of the game after UNC had cut the Wolfpack's lead to 22-18 with 7:10 left in the half. State got out in transition and beat the Tar Heels at their own game.
Brown made a pair of 3-pointers and ignited State's transition game in the first half. The Pack outscored UNC 20-0 in fastbreak points in the first half.
Early foul trouble for McAdoo didn't help the Tar Heels, who got only nine points from their starters in the first half. McAdoo picked up his second foul at 18:02 but the Heels were able to stay in the game through the first 13 minutes.
A dunk by Leslie over reserve Jackson Simmons at the 6-minute mark brought the sellout crowd at PNC Arena to its feet and the Wolfpack fed off the energy.
Comments
Random thoughts
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 22:48 — JPDOhio1. State beat a team that is going to be a scary come tournament time. UNC has its issues, but they can shoot the lights out and will be one of those teams no one wants to play.
2. When all is said and done, the difference in this game is Lorenzo Brown manhandling Marcus Paige. It was nice to be on the delivering end of that matchup. State's been on the receiving end too many times in recent years.
3. I think the second half stumble was mostly due to fatigue. The Pack is at its best when it runs and plays aggressive defense. That takes its toll on a 6-man rotation. I still believe that Gott has to figure out a way to get 10 minutes each from Vandenberg and Lewis. It's risky because there is a clear drop-off in performance, but the upside should be more sustained performance by the top 6.
4. Regarding Tyler Lewis, it is obvious he has struggled with the transition to college. This was to be expected. Yet I can't help thinking that he would improve with more playing time, especially if it is done in the right situations. Tyler has a history of surprising people who expect him to fail against tough competition. I'd like to see him have the opportunity to surprise us this year.
5. At the risk of playing Debby Downer, I am not impressed with CJ Leslie's play. On the plus side yesterday, he rebounded very well and deserves credit for getting McAdoo in early foul trouble. He also hit his foul shots. It just seems to me that his decision making is slow at best, suspect at worst. The offense stops when he has the ball and he is prone to turnovers. I see a guy who is the third best player on the team, is physically quick but makes a lot of mental mistakes. Hopefully, he will prove me wrong for the rest of the year.
Scary?
Mon, 01/28/2013 - 13:42 — SurferScary would be the case, had KM, JH and HB not left school early.
This team needs a full 40 minutes (like State) to have a chance against any good teams.
semantics
Mon, 01/28/2013 - 14:26 — JPDOhioYou are, of course, correct. However, the context of my "scary" comment was that of a lower seed in the tourney that could get hot and upset a higher seed.
Point guard is a problem for the Heels until Paige matures as a player, but they have guys who are athletic and can shoot. They also have been improving and could be the type of team that a higher seed does not want to face in the first or second round.
makes sense
Mon, 01/28/2013 - 15:09 — SurferOf course the same could be said for State. They can be good when they play well.
Glad they won but,
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 11:54 — shharriswas not what I expected. After playing so poorly for 3 games, I had no idea what to expect. Looked to me as if Leslie decided to play as hard as Richard has been. Calvin and Scott's rebounding really helped; notice Richard's numbers did not go down. Brown ran the show like a pro. Let us not forget, hitting free throws was critical.
Yes we need depth. Vandenberg can give us some good minutes, but he needs experience and stamina. Tyler is simply a liability at this stage. He looks timid and unsure of himself when he's in the game. It may be too late to get him ready.
However, lets enjoy a rare win over UNC. Then let's learn to play 40 minutes with intensity, like many of us, Surfer, Jpd, PackFanMan, et al have said since early Dec. Go Pack! steve'73
PS
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 12:10 — shharrisI really liked the red uniforms. The black ones sucked.
Agree;
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 12:31 — PackFanManlove the bold STATE across the front as well as the colors; would like to see more of them.
.....take care.
nice win
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 10:14 — SurferGood win for the Pack. Went about as expected. Although I was surprised to see State get the big lead and UNC make it close at the end. State has good talent, but the lack of depth does seem to hurt them. They will probably need some help to make it farther than the 2 wins they had in the NCAA Tourney last year.
I thought that State played about as well
Sun, 01/27/2013 - 09:19 — PackFanManin the first half as they are capable of playing. The Pack played great team defense, Carolina missed some early shots and the combination keyed our running game and really got us going at full speed.
We also started the second half strong offensively and built that nice lead, but I think the pace of the game started to wear us down and we lost intensity on the defensive end; then Carolina started raining in those three's and getting some easy shots inside and the big lead vanished. Gotta' give the Heels some credit---they played hard and never gave up---many teams would have.
I really believe our lack of depth is hurting us. Gottfried seems reluctant to play Lewis and Vandenburg that much, so State is basically playing most of the game with just six players. Without another "quality" sub there really isn't much he can do.
So, I agree with Lorenzo that it was a good win but not a win that you can be completely satisfied with; giving up 56 points in the second half was unacceptable. This team can be awesome at times but I feel the lack of bench strength over the long course of the season may keep the Pack from going far in the post season---I hope I am wrong.
For now, however, we all can enjoy another "howling" win in what has been a darn good season of basketball in Wolfpack Land!