N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

North Carolina State University

N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

By Daniel Ellis

Feb 12, 2009

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Raleigh, N.C. — N.C. State’s hot 3-point shooting and aggressive play inside helped the Wolfpack stop No. 7 Wake Forest 82-76 Wednesday night in Raleigh.

Junior Farnold Degand matched his career-high on the night, scoring 14 points while going 3-for-5 from 3-point land..

“We were a little bit more aggressive tonight,” Degand said. “We weren’t just going to sit there and hold the ball and let them attack us.”

As a team, State (13-9, 3-6 ACC) closed out the night shooting 7-of-18 from beyond the arc, while bringing an onslaught of dunks and aggressive speed play in their upset victory over the Demon Deacons (18-4, 5-4 ACC).

Wolfpack junior Brandon Costner led all scorers in the contest with 23 points, while sophomore Tracy Smith posted a double-double with 12 points. Ten of Smith’s 12 boards came off the offensive glass.

“Tracy [Smith] stepped up big for us, especially with Ben [McCauley] being a little sick,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “He just played a solid basketball game and did a great job for us.”

The Wolfpack almost blew its lead, though, as the Demon Deacons rallied to within two with just under a minute remaining.

“We worked on and talked about attacking,” Lowe said. “We weren’t looking up the floor and we became passive, so [Wake Forest] stayed with the pressure and caught us on that. It made it tough.”

However, State managed to hold on as the veteran players Ben McCauley and Costner connected on free throws. The win came three days after State blew a big lead at Virginia Tech and lost in overtime.

“In Blacksburg we didn’t knock down those free throws, but tonight we were focused, able to rebound and knocked down those free throws to come out with the win,” senior Courtney Fells said.

The red and white fans rushed the court as the game came to a close in the team’s biggest upset victory of the season. The game was filled with powerful dunks and fast-break drives on both ends of the court.

“Both teams are going to have their ups and downs having so many dunks, but the momentum really helps get the crowd pumped up, and that helps us a lot,” sophomore Javier Gonzalez said.

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Fells and the Pack defense limiting Wake guard Jeff Teague to 11 points, most of which came at the charity stripe.

“We changed our defense up and ran everything at them to keep them off balance,” Lowe said. “Courtney [Fells] did a great job on [Jeff] Teague. We tried to make it tough as we could.”

Early in the first half, though, State struggled to knock down field goals, allowing the Demon Deacons to jump out to an early 11-6 lead after Wake Forest freshman Al-Farouq Aminu slammed in a stolen inbounds pass from junior Dennis Horner.

Three-pointers were the story for the Wolfpack early on as Degand and Fells both were hot from beyond the arc, knocking down two shots apiece, as the Pack alternated hot streaks with the Demon Deacons.

Smith also offered a boost for the Pack, slamming home an inside pass from Degand.

On the subsequent possession, an errant pass resulted in an easy breakaway dunk attempt for freshman C.J. Williams. Wake guard Jeff Teague fouled Williams on the attempt, but the freshman would head to the line, knocking down both free throws.

The Demon Deacons struggled on their next couple of possessions, committing turnovers, struggling to grab defensive rebounds and failing to connect on simple shots.

“Our defense was great which translated into turnovers and easy baskets on the other side,” Gonzalez said.

Similar to the Virginia Tech game, Gonzalez continued to utilize a fast-paced style of play, driving to the basket only to dish the ball back for Fells to dunk with force and put the Pack up 40-33.

“Our guys came ready to play. They were upbeat.” Lowe said. “They saw where we were [after the Virginia Tech game] and kept positive.”

The Wolfpack utilized the strong inside presence of Smith and the hot shooting of Fells and Degand to take a 42-34 lead going into the locker room.

State started the second half strong as Costner cut to the basket for a dunk. Wake had an answer on the other end. Junior guard L.D. Williams connected with the rim on a pass from sophomore James Johnson prompting a quick timeout by coach Sidney Lowe.

The Pack continued to utilize a fast-break offense throughout the second half, with Degand notching a steal after knocking down another shot from 3-point land halfway through the second half.

With 14:32 left in the game, Costner soared up to the basket off of a steal. The Montclair, N.J., native slammed the ball with authority over a Wake defender while drawing the foul.

“Brandon [Costner] was poised down the stretch. He was getting open to relieve the pressure so we could get into something,” Lowe said.

The roaring RBC Center continued to erupt in cheers as Costner swished a 3-pointer from just outside the arc to put the Pack up by 20, their largest lead of the night.

Wake’s Aminu, who averaged 13.2 points per game coming into the night’s contest, fouled out with 11:58 remaining in the second half after notching a fast-break dunk in a contest filled with big plays.

A string of Pack turnovers allowed the Deacs to tally seven points in a matter of 27 seconds.

It wouldn’t be enough, though, as the Pack held on to claim its third ACC victory.

Most Recent Comments

RE: N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

TruthBKnown, I kinda sorta agree with you that storming the court after beating Wake was a little over the top. However, after getting punked by UNC and gagging against VT, I can understand the student's enthusiasm. They are living their NCSU experience in the here and now, not sitting back as alumni and contemplating how it looks in the grand scheme of NCSU place in the pantheon of ACC history. When I was at State in the mid 80's the undergrads were storming Hillsborough St. after winning a first round NCAA game, for crying out loud. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

RE: N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

yea i am sure in wake's media guide next season they will have under the 08-09 list of accomplishments... "lost at NC State but their students stormed the court"[/quote]

I'd bet a large sum of money that Dino pointed that out to his team. Fans don't rush the court when their team beats a lousy opponent. Wake didn't have much to be happy about on their bus trip back to W-S last night, but they at least had that much to smile about.

hey scrooge, why dont you let students be students?

Whatever.

[quote]and here's a memo to you truth be known... Carolina has been there before (assuming by the comment you mean winning big games), yet i believe i saw 3 hr of coverage on WRAL last night of students rushing to Franklin St.

Beating your most bitter rival in their own house, especially with both teams ranked so high, is plenty of reason to celebrate. Beating Wake does not fit that bill. It was embarrassing. Even Costner said that in his postgame interview. You just don't rush the floor after beating a #7 ranked team.

RE: N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

Wake up State fans, you will never compete with UNC or Duke or Wake Forest on a regular basis with Lowe. Oh sure, you'll luck up and win one every now and then like last night.
- Posted by I like everybody

Who said we would? I'm not in love with Lowe now. He did a good job last night, though. I give him credit for that. He didn't do the junk that I've been complaining about all year.

And don't be so sure. Once he figures out the college coaching game (he may be getting there), he may very well compete with Duke and UNC. He sure has the recruiting part down.

I'm sensing fear from you......

RE: N.C. State shocks No. 7 Wake Forest, 82-76

I totally agree with the other bloggers here.

This game was about Wake totally screwing up vs State playing pretty good. When you are this bad, what incentive does a "good" team have in playing you.

Being 3-14 in the league, this does not change my opinion of the "coaching" staff and fowler.

Congratulations to Courtney, Brandon, Ben and the boys- they played their hearts out and they finally got rewarded for it. Go Pack!!

typical ECU fan...

leave it to a pirate fan to say the pack will never compete with Duke, UNC, or Wake.

what's the saying... those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

exactly when has ECU ever competed against any of the Big 4 in your HISTORY? The pack owns you in hoops, football, and baseball.

WRAL Sports Fan

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