WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

State allows 19-2 run to close out 78-65 loss to Florida State

By Daniel Ellis

Jan 14, 2009

Senior guard Toney Douglas and the Florida State Seminoles (14-3, 1-1 ACC) dealt N.C. State (9-5, 0-2 ACC) its second conference defeat Tuesday night in Raleigh.

With 6:15 left in the second half, the Pack went scoreless for nearly five minutes, allowing the Seminoles to make a 19-2 run from which the Wolfpack couldn’t recover.

“When we turn the ball over, they capitalize,” State freshman Julius Mays said. “We really don’t need to have any more than 10 turnovers per game.”

Despite totaling 16 turnovers in the game, a strong second-half effort by Mays and redshirt freshman Johnny Thomas almost brought the Pack to their first ACC win of the season. The Seminoles, however, managed to break down the veteran players in the final minutes.

“It’s a little frustrating, but all we can do is just keep fighting and we’ll find a way to win,” freshman C.J. Williams said.

With 7:21 left in the game, it looked as if State might pull ahead when Mays got a foul call while shooting over senior guard Toney Douglas. Mays’ shot followed a put-back basket he had on the previous possession.

“I thought we had a group of young guys that really came in and got after it and played well for us,” Coach Sidney Lowe said. “They did exactly what they were supposed to do – get us back in the ball game.”

Mays had the hot hand throughout the night, going 5-for-8 with a career-high 13 points. Lowe said it was May’s intensity and speed of play that allowed him to stay in the game for the vast majority of the second half.

“With Farnold [Degand] not coming in, I just knew I had to play through the fatigue,” Mays said.

FSU’s Douglas, however, led all scorers, posting 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Douglas has been averaging 18.4 points per game this season.

“He’s their offensive player. He’s their weapon, but we just couldn’t shut him down,” junior Dennis Horner said. “We wanted to trap him and get the guard back on him when they set up screens.”

Early in the game, the Pack utilized a zone defense, forcing the Seminoles to attempt to shoot the long ball.

“We had good defense in the first half and were getting stops,” Mays said. “We weren’t letting them get offensive rebounds or second chances.”

As in previous games, Costner continued to make an impact on the hardwood, hitting three-pointers, drawing fouls, and breaking away with steals early in the first half. Costner’s seven early points helped State gather an early 12-4 lead.

“It was important that we played hard at the end of the first half and not get down on ourselves,” Julius Mays said.

The team’s awareness would soon dwindle away, though, as they made errant passes, allowed FSU defenders to rip the ball away, and threw up hurried shots.

One of the FSU highlights of the first half came when freshman Chris Singleton forcefully slammed a rebound amidst a pair of Pack defenders.

Meanwhile, State struggled offensively, turning the ball over nine times and connecting on only 38.5 percent of field goals in the first half.

The offensive drought ended five minutes later when Horner connected on a pair of free throws. Then, after a 14-5 run, the Pack managed to close the gap to three going into the locker room.

The teams traded baskets throughout the beginning of the second half, with State’s hustle allowing them to overcome the full-court press of FSU.

The Seminoles, however, gained enough momentum to pull out the victory after Lowe made several lineup changes in hopes that his veteran players could close out the game.

“I couldn't sense the team's spirit going down, but I didn't like what I saw when I made the change,” Lowe said.

Whether Lowe will make any changes to the starting lineup when N.C. State hosts Georgia Tech (9-6, 0-2 ACC) this Saturday still remains up in the air for now. Regardless of the starters, everyone has a must-win attitude heading into the game.

“It’s a big game that we have to win,” Horner said. “After that, we get on the road to face Duke and we have to win that one too.