Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

North Carolina State University

Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

Rodney Purvis (0) rises up for a jumper during the UNC vs. NC State game on January 26, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jan 29, 2013

103

comments

POST VIEW

Charlottesville, Va. — FINAL: Virginia 58, NC State 55

Virginia took their first lead of the game midway through the second half and grinded out a win over NC State Tuesday in Charlottesville, 58-55.

3:52 2nd: Virginia 56, NC State 54

High screens and poor communication by the NC State defense have allowed Virginia to take a two-point lead at the final media timeout.

The Pack have no answer for Joe Harris who is now up to 22 points.

6:48 2nd: NC State 49, Virginia 45

Richard Howell has awoken inside and has a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Scott Wood hit a 3-pointer to give NC State breathing room late in the second half.

Leslie is also in double-double range with 15 and 10 but also has a pair of fouls and five turnovers.

11:26 2nd: NC State 40, Virginia 40

Virginia claimed their first lead of the night at the 12:19 mark of the 2nd half, but Calvin Leslie's 3-point play put the Pack back up next trip down. The game is now knotted at the under-12 timeout.

Tyler Lewis has begun taking more possessions at the point since the last break. Neither he nor Purvis has committed a turnover tonight.

15:02 2nd: NC State 35, Virginia 34

Lorenzo Brown injured his ankle and will not return for NC State tonight leaving Rodney Purvis to run the point. Virginia is taking immediate advantage and has trimmed the margin to one.

Harris is starting to have his way inside and out against NC State, specifically Purvis, and has a game-high 15 points.

HALFTIME: NC State 31, Virginia 24

Sick or not, Calvin Leslie is leading NC State with eight points at halftime as the Pack fought their way to 31 points against a stingy Virginia defense.

Rodney Purvis and Richard Howell each have six points and Howell has seven boards as he is on his way to another double double.

Joe Harris has 12 points to lead Virginia scorers.

3:25 1st: NC State 22, Virginia 18

Rodney Purvis has hit two threes to pace the NC State offense but Virginia's gameplan has been well executed to keep the score low at the final media timeout of the first half.

7:37 1st NC State 17, Virginia 11

After sensing a momentum drop, Virginia called a timeout and responded with a put-back off an offensive miss and got the crowd back up. NC State still leads at the under-8, 17-11.

Leslie made a two and Tyler Lewis hit an open three off the bench after Lo Brown took a seat with some sort of injury. NC State has had seven players touch the court and all have made exactly one field goal.

11:29 1st: NC State 12, Virginia 7

Calvin Leslie checked in at the 13:46 mark but made little impact as NC State continues to lead a low-scoring affair in Charlottesville.

All five NC State starters have made one field goal but three turnovers are preventing any lead from growing.

15:09 1st: NC State 7, Virginia 4

Virginia has deliberately tried to slow the pace in the early going but NC State got a three from Scott Wood that represents the difference in the opening five minutes of play.

TJ Warren, starting for Calvin Leslie, has a bucket and a turnover. Richard Howell has also scored.

20:00 1st: NC State at Virginia

Calvin Leslie has been battling flu-like symptoms and will not start tonight against Virginia.

NC State's starting five will be Brown, Warren, Wood, Purvis and Howell.

Pregame

The No. 19 NC State Wolfpack aim at their first-ever victory at John Paul Jones Arena when they tangle with the Virginia Cavaliers in an Atlantic Coast Conference bout on Tuesday.

Although the Wolfpack hold an 81-58 all-time series edge versus Virginia, the Cavaliers are 35-23 against NC State in Charlottesville, including a 4-0 mark at JPJA. NC State is the only winless ACC team at JPJA. This will be a match- up of offenses on opposite sides of the ledger. NC State boasts the top scoring offense in the ACC at 79.8 points per game, while Virginia is posting a mere 62.8 points per contest. More Info 2012-2013 Wolfpack individual stats

Mark Gottfried's Wolfpack has not been playing up to their potential in recent weeks. Since upsetting Duke by eight points, they have gone 2-2 with road losses at Maryland (51-50) and Wake Forest (86-84) to go along with home victories over Clemson (66-62) and North Carolina (91-83). The win over the Tar Heels boosted NC State to 16-4 overall, including its 5-2 mark in ACC action. Although the team leads the conference and is sixth among Division I schools in scoring offense, it is second to last in the ACC on the other end of the court, allowing 70.2 points per game.

The inconsistent play will most likely not last too long for the Wolfpack due to their unbelievable scoring depth. C.J. Leslie, Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, Scott Wood, and T.J. Warren are all carrying double-digit scoring averages into this one, while Rodney Purvis is sitting at 9.8 ppg. Brown (20 points, 11 assists), Howell (16 points, 14 rebounds), and Leslie (17 points, 10 rebounds) all notched double-doubles to push NC State past UNC.

Tony Bennett's Cavaliers collected their third win in a row with a 65-51 victory over Boston College on Saturday. The decision pushed Virginia to 14-5 overall, including its 4-2 mark in ACC action. It will try to carry on that momentum on Tuesday at JPJA, where it is 12-1 on the season. The Cavaliers are allowing a mere 51.1 points per game to rank second in the nation in scoring defense. More Info More NCSU Stories

Still, the team has a formidable inside/outside game in the form of guard Joe Harris and forward Akil Mitchell. Harris leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg and is shooting .467 from behind the arc (42-of-90). Mitchell nets 12.3 ppg and ranks among the ACC's best in rebounding (fourth in the conference at 8.8 rpg). Harris was cold versus BC, going 3-of-9 from the floor for just seven points. However, Mitchell tallied 16 points and six boards, while Justin Anderson poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench. Freshman forward Evan Nolte continued to show progression despite foul trouble, netting nine points in just 11 minutes of action.

The Wolfpack are the better team on paper, but their troubles away from home may continue to haunt them in this one. Nolte may end up being the x-factor for Virginia, as his presence as a third scoring option makes the defensive- minded Cavaliers a much more complete squad. However, this could be a statement game for NC State, which wants to get back to ACC-elite status.

Most Recent Comments

View All Comments

RE: Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

Will not make excuses, perhaps we could have won if Brown had not gotten injured. But regardless, our play tonight was pathetic at best. Our lack of team chemistry really showed tonight, especially with the camera catching Warren mouthing off to Howell. Better get this team in line or they will become a bubble team at best. Too many head cases on this team for them to win consistently.

Everyone in the building knew who was going to take that last shot. Why could we not set a double ball screen and let Wood run around it or even better, use Wood as a decoy and let the defense follow him and get Purvis open for a 3.
- Posted by tayled

State is hardly a bubble team. I was surprised to see Warren mouth off at Howell; I didn't think Warren was like that. At any rate, don't count out your Pack. There's a lot of basketball left to be played. Most teams are playing for a berth in the Dance at this point in the year.

RE: Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

"BREAKING NEWS" on WRAL. State sucks after big wins with dook and Carolina........
- Posted by rlewis2

So according to your statement, if State beat Carowhina and they suck, then what does that make the tarholes then?

RE: Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

and it's ANOTHER CAROLINA HANGOVER
- Posted by Heelraiser RIP

I wouldn't go that far. If Brown had not got injured, this could have had a completely different result. Regardless, it was another road loss. Not making excuses, but when you play a 6 man rotation, there is NO room for error. I was worried that this could happen at any point during the season. The road for the pack is not going to get any easier. Miami coming up this weekend, and Duke in Cameron next week. Those were going to be really tough games anyway, but without Brown, we don't even have a shot. All that said, I am actually more proud of the way the team played through the adversity tonight that I was with the way they ended the game against UNC. I fully expected us to be blown out after Brown went down. What really sucks is that we don't even get a chance to get revenge on the Cavs in Raleigh. My hope is that we meet Maryland in the 1st round of the ACCT and then play Virginia in the 2nd. I am sure if we make it that far, Duke or Miami will be waiting for us.
- Posted by timdouthit

I don't think losing to UVA was a result of any "hangover" from beating Carolina. State played well, and did well even without Brown for 3/4th of the game. Between Brown going out and Leslie playing with the flu, on the road, State put up a good fight, and only lost by 3.

All this said, Virginia does deserve credit for winning this game. They have a preddt dang good record in the ACC.

RE: Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

"BREAKING NEWS" on WRAL. State sucks after big wins with dook and Carolina........

RE: Virginia edges NC State, 58-55

Both teams played hard with great heart tonight. UVA has to be congratulated. State did miss Brown.
- Posted by Hokie 94

Agreed. Everyone keeps pointing out that State was picked to finish 1st in the conference, but that was by the media and coaches. I, and I think a lot of other fans were a bit skeptical of that prediction. Even though we are now 16-5, I am happy with that as opposed to previous years. 5-3 in conference halfway through is not bad either. Sure, I would have loved to have went undefeated, been ranked #1 in the country all season, but I never expected it to happen. UVA played a good game tonight. They used their style of play to their advantage, and the fact that Brown was out made it even easier for them to do. If Brown can come back healthy, I still expect us to have a respectable season, make the NCAA tourney and win a couple of games. Speaking as someone who has been a Pack fan for many years, that is a great year. I am happy with Coach Gott and expect him to continue to recruit and improve the team over the next few years. I, for one, am looking to the future, and not expecting an overnight national championship.

View All Comments

WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University