WRAL Sports Fan

College Basketball

McCauley's Dunk Lifts N.C. State Past Wake Forest

By J. Mike Blake

Feb 4, 2008

Raleigh, N.C. — N.C. State forward Ben McCauley went from the inbound passer to the hero in five seconds and 94 feet. With the score tied and just those five ticks remaining, McCauley threw the ball in to Gavin Grant and sprinted downcourt.

When Grant’s 3-point attempt went high off the rim, McCauley, still following the play, flew in untouched for an emphatic left-hand dunk-back as the buzzer sounded for the 67-65 win over Wake Forest (13-7, 3-4 ACC).

“Sure enough he missed it, luckily for me. And I was there with enough time left, and I didn’t want to take any chance to lay it up or anything and I just threw it home,” McCauley said. “I was so excited. I really didn’t have any words for it.”

McCauley never gave up on the play as the clock rolled down, or at any point during a game that State trailed for the first 37 minutes. An aggressive McCauley had 11 points, all in the second half, to spearhead the come-from-behind win.

“Ben just wasn’t going to accept that that was the end of it,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “That’s a basketball play. That’s a play that’s saying, ‘I’m going to get back in this action and make something happen.’ … That just told you what his mindset was.”

When State took its first lead until 2:56 remaining, the relentless McCauley was there.
The junior hit two free throws to bring the Wolfpack (14-7, 3-4 ACC) within one before diving to the floor for a long rebound on the other end.

With his back on the floor, McCauley flipped up a quick pass to Javi Gonzalez, who found fellow freshman J.J. Hickson streaking for a reverse jam that ignited the RBC Center crowd.

The hard-working junior often finishes games for Lowe, even when he wasn’t starting. His teammates praised his play during the game and said they seen the same kind of tenacity all week long.

“That’s Ben. He works hard every day in practice,” said Grant, who had 17 points. “He almost kills us sometimes from diving for balls he can’t even get.”

McCauley and the Pack have been no stranger to pulling out wins at the last second.

The Pack now has five wins in seven one-possession games.

“It helps us. We realize that if we’re in tournament play in the postseason and we’re in a close game we can look back at some of these games,” McCauley said. “We know what it takes to win.”

State trailed at the half 31-24. Deacon guards Ishmael Smith and Jeff Teague were having success slashing into the lane, prompting Lowe to go to a 3-2 zone in the second.

This problem looked to be compounded when Courtney Fells, who had 14 points, got his fourth foul with almost 12 minutes remaining.

As a result, his replacement, little-used Trevor Ferguson, provided a spark with two steals and a 3-pointer to keep things close.

We fought through it, and that’s what this team is all about, just fighting through it,” McCauley said. “We think that we’re never out of any game.”

Gonzalez even added two more second half 3s that got the crowd rocking.

The freshman point guard continues to indicate that he has settled in. Gonzalez played one of his best all-around games all season, totaling four rebounds, two steals, six points on two 3-pointers and a career-high six assists.

“Ironically enough, he’s more calm towards the end of a ball game,” Lowe said. “He doesn’t make many mistakes down the stretch and that’s huge; especially for a freshman.”

The Pack might not have had to rely on a follow-up dunk to finish the game had it hit free throws. Grant and Hickson went 1-for-4 at the line with less than 35 seconds left, allowing Wake’s Smith to tie the game on a floater.

But thanks to McCauley, all that will be remembered is the ending; one that surely put a smile on State fans right up to the Super Bowl kickoff.

“I saw Ben soaring over everybody and throw it down with his left hand,” Ferguson said. “Glad to be 3-4 in the conference.”