Game blog: N.C. State outlasts Boston College 74-69
Simon Harris of N.C. State tries to draw a charge from Biko Paris of Boston College during the first half on March 4, 2009.
Mar 4, 2009
McCauley hits both free throws to finish with 20 points, a nice close to his play at the RBC Center. State wins 74-69 to get to 16-12. This helps for NIT sake.
Sanders got fouled and went to the line for a 1 and 1. He missed it and senior Ben McCauley got the board and let out a huge roar. He is at the line in the double bonus with 2.9 seconds left with a 72-69 lead.
C.J. Williams at the line shooting two. He misses the first! He makes the second. It's 72-69. The clock ticks down to under 10 seconds and Javi fouls Tyrese Rice on the floor to prevent a three point attempt. It was only the sixth foul for N.C. State. They should foul again.
Gonzalez just missed both free throws. And State fouls Trapani at the other end. He hits one of two and BC takes a timeout. It's 71-69 with 26 seconds left.
8:44 p.m., Sanders hits another one!: McCauley put in a nice turnaround jumper and Rakim Sanders answers with another three. It's 71-68 with 58 seconds left. BC took a timeout after the shot.
8:43 p.m., State staying ahead: Rakim Sanders just hit a trey to make it 69-64 State with 1:25 left.
8:37 p.m., Timeout Al: And they come right on the floor from the timeout and throw the ball away. Javi Gonzalez made one of the nicest plays I've seen him make. He was assertive with the ball and went coast to coast and took it up against a big guy for a lay up. State has a big eight point lead at 66-58 with 3:55 to play in the game. They can taste it now. Ben McCauley has 16 points in the game.
8:32 p.m., Costner coming alive: He hasn't played lights out here but he seems to be getting emotionally back into it. He has seven points this half and his head looks like it is back in to hoops. That will help down the stretch here. What do you know Smith hit both free throws.
8:30 p.m., Tracy Smith on the line: He is a 58 percent free throw shooter. He is no Tyler Hansbrough. And it is starting to hurt him because he is taking it strong to the hoop often. He just missed out on a potential 3-point play. The camera guy in the RBC Center keeps putting the two girls on the kiss cam. They still won't comply.
8:27 p.m., BC getting in the lane: State is having some trouble containing the guards for BC. They are quick off the dribble and State is only left to foul. Dennis Horner just made a nice play to get a loose ball and got it ahead to Costner who in stride jammed it with the left hand. A great play there! State leads it 61-58 after a Tyler Roche 3-ball. There is under seven minutes to play.
8:23 p.m., Fells out: Just when I said the seniors were doing well I got some knowledge on Fells. He has hurt his groin and he probably will not return. What a tough way to end your last home game. He had 11 points in the first half. I saw him lean towards Trevor Ferguson on the bench and Fells shook his head as if to say "no".
8:19 p.m., BC at the line: McCauley turned it over in the post and created a fast break for Tyrese Rice. He dished it off and Brandon Costner got called for the foul. State is up 53-50 with 11:43 to play in the game.
8:15 p.m., Dog fight: I'm starting to see the intensity pick up out there for both teams. This is not a game either team is about to try and lose. Ben McCauley just got to throw down a two handed dunk with authority this time. He got set up right under the basket on a tipped ball. Brandon Costner missed two free throws, but finally buried a three point basket.
8:10 p.m, Tight game here: Boston College is keeping this thing close with some Rice shots. He has 14 points. It's 45-43 State with under 16 to play in the game. I love Al Skinner's attire. He goes with a golf shirt with a simple blazer over it. Screw the suit! Why do these coaches wear suits anyway? Who cares? You are coaching a basketball game. Your players are wearing shorts and jerseys.
8:08 p.m., Kiss Cam: Someone here at the RBC Center thought it would be funny to put two attractive females on it. They didn't do it.
8:05 p.m., Timeout Sidney: Lowe did not like the defense his team was playing. Tyrese Rice just went in for a short jumper. You have to be tough defending him in man-to-man. We'll see if they switch anything up. They have used a lot of trick defenses in recent games.
8:02 p.m., Fells hurt: It appears to be that ankle again. He went up for a defensive rebound and got called for a foul. The next I noticed Simon Harris came in and Fells was on his way into the tunnel. It's 43-37.
7:54 p.m., Want a trip to London: This was the most boring halftime contest ever. You got to choose to shoot from a certain hot spot on the court and win two plane tickets to a variety of cities. London was the three quarter court shot. It was a team of two guys playing and instead of ensuring the trip to D.C. before attempting a longer shot, they shot two 3-pointers for the Miami trip and clanked them both. Thanks for playing.
Tyrese Rice has 10 points at the half. You know what the key State guys did. Only five turnovers for N.C. State. With some praying they can stay below 10 for the game.
7:45 p.m., Quick half, but a good one: It's only 7:45 and the half is over. Ben McCauley hits a turnaround short jumper at the buzzer of the half for some great momentum going into the half. He has 13 points to lead all scorers. I just wonder why the heck he sat the bench for so long in the middle of the half. State leads 43-34 at the half. Seniros are ruling as Fells chipped in with 11. Brandon Costner is still an afterthought for the fourth straight game so far. He has one point on 0-2 shooting.
7:43 p.m., Great offense here: It's 41-34 with under a minute to play in the first half. Dennis Horner has hit two 3-balls. Tyrese Rice is making fantastic plays on offense.
7:36 p.m., Tracy Smith: He just made a great offensive move to hit the basket, and then let a very easy defensive rebound get away as Joe Trapani out hustled him. It was a really good play followed by a really bad one. State is up 34-30 after two Rice free throws. We are under four minutes to play in the half.
7:30 p.m., Ben is on the bench: McCauley has been sitting for a really long time. And he was playing really well too. He has been out of the game for nearly six minutes. Fells just buried his third 3-pointer and has 11 points. Tyrese Rice just knifed into the lane for one of his tough shots. It's 32-36 N.C. State with five minutes left in the half.
7:27 p.m., State with a nice lead: They need to play like this and keep it up all game long. They are starting to get the ball in the paint to Tracy Smith also. He has three buckets. Anytime they get the ball to him inside, something good usually happens. State is up 29-22 with 7:24 to go in the half.
7:24 p.m., Sloppy play: A sequence here where the ball changed possession two or three times and was up and down the court, without anything happening. Now Horner hits a 3-ball to put State up 27-20 with under 9 minutes to play in the half.
7:19 p.m., Fells heating up: The seniors are coming to play right now. Fells has two 3-pointers already for a total of eight points. McCauley has seven of his own. Simon Harris is in the game stirring things up with his intensity. It's 20-20 with under 12 minutes to play in the half.
7:14 p.m., McCauley playing well: He already has two three quarter dunks. I am not giving him credit for a real dunk because he didn't really rock the rim. Gonzalez picked up a steal and threw a nice oop to McCauley on the last possession and Ben half dunked it in and got the foul. He made the free throw and has seven points already. BC is leading 20-17 with 12:17 left in the first. Simon Harris is in the game and he already got the crowd into it as he and Corey Raji were chirping. Harris would own him in a fight.
7:09 p.m., Not the start they wanted: Boston College has not missed a shot and they lead 12-5 at the first media timeout. The crowd here to start out the game is pathetic. They are not very loud. I know it's spring break, but it's the last men's hoops game of the year!
7:06 p.m., BC off to a good start: Four baskets from four different dudes so far. Tyrese Rice got the last one. Both seniors for State have buckets as well. It's 8-4 very early.
7:02 p.m., Time to start: I don't like this, it's senior night and Simon Harris doesn't get to start. It's the regular five for N.C. State.
7:00 p.m., Remembering Corey Smith: A nice moment of silence for the former DE for the Pack's football team who was lost while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Everytime I'm reminded of the story you can't help but feel devastated.
6:49 p.m., It's the seniors time: Harris, Fells, and McCauley are being introduced at center court with their families. They get to take home a really gigantic jersey in a picture frame. Also to take home, a picture with coach Lowe. The RBC Center still could fill up a lot. There are maybe 10 thousand in here right now.
6:37 p.m., ESPNU: Oh my gosh! Dan McLaughlin and Mike Kelley are in the house! Tune it in to Time Warner 256 (I really have no idea what channel it is, push your guide button people).
6:29 p.m., Senior night everybody: Well there is something unique going on tonight at the RBC Center if you didn't know (and judging by the attendance you haven't). It's the last game of the season at the RBC Center. One thing I promise you is those 100 staffers that have to change court to ice a million times a season will be very happy. Ben McCauley, Courtney Fells, and Simon Harris will suit up in the whites for the last time (unless they play a lower seed in the ACC tourney, not going to happen). I did feel at the midway point of this season it was going to be a step up from last year. This team still has work to do to accomplish that. They can get to a respectable 17-12 with a win here tonight and a road win at Miami. They suffered an emotional let-down loss to Maryland here on Sunday, and for the first time in a while Coach Lowe and many of the players thought they didn't come ready to play. I don't think that will be a problem tonight, especially for Fells and McCauley. I'll throw Harris in there as well, he's my favorite Pack player to watch because he looks like he gives a darn more than anyone else on the floor.
