WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Mays nails 3 in OT to give State 84-81 win over Miami

By Emily Seck

Jan 28, 2009

Raleigh, N.C. — For a while Tuesday night, it looked like N.C. State University might get its first convincing ACC win of the season. The Wolfpack committed only two turnovers in the first half. It led Miami by 14 points at halftime, and it later extended that lead to 19.

But then the lead started to slip away and it began to look like a repeat of last year’s overtime thriller, when both teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the game. Last year, State forward Gavin Grant stole a Hurricane inbounds pass to lift the Pack to a 79-77 victory with 2.1 seconds left.

This time, State didn’t need any Miami mistakes. Freshman guard Julius Mays drained a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to give the Pack (10-7, 2-4) the 84-81 victory and its second ACC win of the season.

“When we walked into the locker room, all the coaches looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, he does it in practice, he does it everyday,’” coach Sidney Lowe said. “He makes big shots, game-winning shots in practice. He’s got great poise and he shoots with confidence.”

State held the 68-67 advantage with less than one minute remaining when the Hurricanes’ Adrian Thomas hit a 3-pointer to push the score to 70-68 in favor of Miami. Forward Brandon Costner hit the tying bucket at the 17.5 mark. The Hurricanes’ shot at the buzzer wouldn’t go, forcing overtime for the second year in a row.

The Pack was holding a 81-78 lead with 30 seconds remaining in overtime when Miami guard Jack McClinton – the top scorer of the game with 27 points – was fouled on a 3-point-attempt and drained the ensuing shots to push the score to 81-81.

State ended the game with 10 turnovers, well off its season average of 17.2.

“That’s our mark,” Lowe said. “We don’t want to get to 10, but we don’t want to get any more than 10. If we keep it to 10 turnovers, we’re going to have a chance to win every single night.”

Courtney Fells led the Pack with 24 points, and Brandon Costner contributed 21 before fouling out in overtime.

Before the game, a video paid tribute to the late women’s basketball coach Kay Yow. State’s players wore Yow patches on their jerseys during the game in her memory.

“Coach Yow was a great person and a really great friend to not only me, but all of my teammates,” Costner said. “It was always nice to talk to her. It’s just such a sad loss for the university and mankind. Period.”

Tracy Smith got his first start of the season after leading the Wolfpack with 17 points in State’s loss to Boston College.

State looks to take its momentum into this weekend’s match-up against UNC at home.

“We needed [this win] a lot,” Ben McCauley said. “We really did. You have to protect home court. It’s tough to win on the road in the ACC. If you lose at home, you’re that much further back. We’ve got a big game coming up Saturday – obviously – everyone knows that. It’s do or die, really.”