Pack Dismantles Hokies
What a performance by the NC State basketball team this afternoon at the RBC Center. We took control early in the game a built a 12 point halftime lead. But that was no enough for the guys. They came out in the second half and built a 30 point lead with 11 minutes to go on the #25 Virginia Tech Hokies. From there we protected the ball and melted the clock away. The final margin was an impressive 25 point at 81-56. The Pack moves to 14-11 (4-8) on the season.
The first half was a thing of beauty for the Wolfpack. Early in the game we pumped the ball to Ben McCauley down low and got some easy hoops. The only time the Pack trailed the whole night was 3-2 about a minute into the game but a nice pass from McCauley to Fells provided an easy layup and the Pack was on its way. The first half was another incredible shooting performance for the Pack. A very nice 69.2% from the field and 5-9 (55.6%) from the arch gave NC State a 45-33 lead at halftime.
The hot shooting was did not cool off during the break. The Pack came out of the break on fire and built a 21 point lead by the first media timeout of the half. The lead continued to grow as the offense was in a perfect rhythm and the defense was shutting down the Hokies. The lead swelled up to 30 at 71-41 with 11 minutes to go in the game. From there is was all over by the final margin. The lead was cut to 20 with a few minutes left in the game but some clutch shotting by Fells and Costner late in the shot clock bumped the lead back up to 25 by the end of the game. The lead was so comfortable that the bench was emptied with about a minute to go in the game. Justin Clark, Kenneth Pittman, Darrell Davis, and Braxton Albritton all recorded a minute and Bryan Nieman got five minutes
What a overall performance from the Wolfpack today. The offense was tremendous and the defense was dominate. The shooting numbers are staggering; however we did drop off from the 69% in the first half to 63.3% in the second half. For the game we were 66.7% from the field which is the third best shooting performance in Wolfpack history. After going 5-9 from the arch in the first half, we went 6-6 in the second for a staggering 11-15 (73.3%) for the game. The biggest reason we shot the ball so well is that we got GREAT looks from the offense. I can’t remember a time during the game when any player forced a bad shot. Every shot was in the flow of the offense and a majority of them went in the hoop! When we are clicking on offense we are a tough team to beat, just ask unc-ch.
On the defensive side of the ball we controlled the Hokies dynamic guards. Zabian Dowdell, who went for a career high 33 in his last outing, was held to only 9 points due to the lock down defense of Fells. The Hokies other guard, Jamon Gordon, was the only player in double figures, 13, for Virginia Tech. Another huge factor in the game was the rebounds with State out rebounding VT 28-21. The turnovers were pretty even with the Wolfpack committing 11 and the Hokies 10.
Engin Atsur played a great game this afternoon. He ended the game with 20 points going 8-10 from the field and 3-4 from three point land. Throw in seven assists and only 5 turnovers and it was a very productive 35 minutes. Once again he was a very big asset in breaking the press and getting us into our offense. Ben McCauley also had a very productive 35 minutes recording 16 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Gavin Grant played a team high 39 minutes and had 15 points, four assist, 3 rebounds, and a very big dunk at the end of the first half. Courtney Fells added 14 points in only 28 minutes. Brandon Costner had another double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes. Dennis Horner had three points (one three pointer) in his 12 minutes and Trevor Ferguson failed to score in his 11 minutes.
Overall, a GREAT performance from the Wolfpack. Coming in on a three game loosing streak and having the next two on the road made this game a big one. The Pack wasted no time in getting a lead and never let it get close in the second half. So, the pack sweeps the Hokies for the season beating them by a combined 36 points!!! Next up for the Pack a trip to chapel hill to sweep the tar heels.