Game blog: No. 2 Duke beats N.C. State 73-56
Jan 20, 2009
9:52 p.m., Good win for Duke: They erased a poor shooting half and played their best towards the end when it counts. Duke ended the game on a 19-3 run over the last eight minutes. Duke wins 73-56 to get to 17-1 and 4-0 in the ACC. My ear drums are ruined after this game, the crazies were loud tonight.
9:48 p.m., Duke is just better: Their talent and athleticism supercedes what N.C. State has this year. Give the Wolfpack credit from hanging in this game against one of the best teams in the nation, on the road. Gerald Henderson just stole another one and chased it down and slammed it in. He is incredibly athletic, maybe more than any in the nation. Duke is up 71-56 with 1:07 to go.
9:44 p.m., Duke pulling ahead: N.C. State's achilles heel has jumped on them as they have turned it over three times in a row. Duke is turning it into points as well as they lead 64-55 with 2:57 to play. Here's something funny, the "crazy" sitting behind me (Zack) refuted that I wrote he whined about that five second call. He said he was protesting the call, either way I will not go against the mob that is the "Cameron Crazies". There are way more of them than there are of me. They rival the fans we had at my alma mater, KU.
9:39 p.m., Duke surges: The Blue Devils are starting to hit shots, and State turned it over when it couldn't afford to, and Henderson is there to take it in for the slam. Duke is up 62-55 with five minutes left.
9:33 p.m., Singler has four fouls: Tracy Smith took it to him, got fouled and made the hoop. With 7:58 to play in the game State can tie it at 54 with a free throw from Smith. The crazies behind me were whining for a five second call. When something goes the other way they love to complain, like any home crowd. The guy sitting next to me held is hand up and said "four fouls" as the only number they need to know, instead of five seconds. Singler will stay in the game. I don't like how Sidney Lowe took out Costner, McCauley, and Degand out at the ten minute mark. I wouldn't put them on the bench at all for the rest of the game. They were playing great.
9:25 p.m., Pack stays with it: Farnold Degand had a great drive and score to silence the crowd after the Paulus three, in my opinion a huge play by Farnold to answer that and re-take the lead quickly. Gerald Henderson is the best player for Duke with 17 points. He is has a hot hand and is really the only Duke player who can consistently make a shot tonight. With 10:13 to go at the second media timeout State leads 49-46. The Pack are doing a great job to answer every move Duke makes. Kyle Singler made a three pointer to bring them within one, but Johnny Thomas scores on a put back at the other end. Singler and Paulus both have 9 points. McCauley and Costner both have 15 points and are a combined 11-17 from the field. I can't believe the Pack are showing their grit like they are in this game, regardless the outcome. They have at least done the job to show that they CAN play when they desire to.
9:22 p.m., Duke is back: Greg Paulus just blew the roof off this join with a three pointer. The game is tied at 41 right now. This will be a tough environment from here on out for State. Can they handle it?
9:19 p.m., Costner: He hits a three and he is 3-3 from out there with 13 points. State leads 39-36 after Henderson obliterates the rim with a monster one-hand slam.
9:12 p.m., Duke foul trouble: Kyle Singler picked up his third foul. N.C. State is making crisp passes and making good shots here to start the half. Gerald Henderson is keeping his team in it as he made a bucket and got fouled on two straight trips down the floor, converting one of the three-point plays. Duke's defense right now is not what it needs to be though. Brandon Costner dribbles right down the floor and makes an easy lay-in. Singler just hits a three that gets the crowd back into it before the timeout. With 15:40 to play in the game State leads 36-34. McCauley has 13 points, and Costner has 10. Sidney Lowe talked this year about how they need certain players to play well for them to win. Those are the guys he is talking about.
9:07 p.m., Foul trouble: Courtney Fells picked up his third foul a minute into the second half. It's trouble if it affects his defensive intensity. N.C. State still leads by four early in the half here. Duke has Kyle Singler back on the floor.
8:54 p.m., Half-time stats: I really thought Duke should have put Singler back in the game with two fouls late in the half. They needed a lift from their best shooter to pick them up. N.C. State did play some great man to man defense the whole half, and they contested most of Duke's shots. The Blue Devils shot it 29 percent from the field. Greg Paulus is their leading scorer with 6. Ben McCauley had 9 points for State, while Costner added 6 of his own on two three point shots. By the way, J.J. Redick is wearing a red scarf. It doesn't feel like scarf weather inside the stadium, it's actually quite comfortable.
8:48 p.m., Lightning quick half: How bout this hoops fans? N.C. State leads Duke 26-22 on the road at halftime. Julus Mays just hit a sick shot before halftime as he drove all the way down the lane and hit a finger roll shot. This N.C. State team is taking advantage of a poor Duke shooting half, which is what they need to do. Now do they get outscored by 30 in the next half like last year in this building.
8:41 p.m., Duke is ice cold: They are shooting under 33 percent from the field this half. I will give N.C. State some credit in that as they have contested alot of shots and played pretty good defense so far. But Duke is missing an abnormal amount of good looks as well. Kyle Singler has been taken out of this half with two fouls, as he has been sitting for a while with just three points. N.C. State is leading 24-20! Brandon Costner knocks in another three pointer. There is 2:20 left in the opening half. State is on a 10-0 run.
8:37 p.m., Costner on the board: Duke takes a timeout here as State cuts it to a 20-19 game. Blue Devils out in front but Sidney Lowe's team is hanging tough. Costner has three points as he just nailed a three for his first bucket. Under five to play in the first.
8:30 p.m., Crazy towel guy: The crazies know how to still get fired up when nothing is going on. The cheer for this old man with a towel. That must make his life. Duke leads this one 18-12 with 7:23 left in the first half. Dennis Horner just had a costly turnover after he took a long rebound and couldn't get a good pass to Johnny Thomas. Thomas is actually an incredibly athletic player who can get above the rim, and would have caught the oop.
8:23 p.m., Redick's team: With him being here I'll take a second to look at his NBA team, the Orlando Magic. They are really good this year with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. They have a 33-8 record and next play Boston at home on Thursday. That game will decide the best record in the Eastern Conference. Redick is averaging almost 6 points per game this season. Duke leads 16-11 here with under ten to play in the first. Courtney Fells has sent in a couple of shots, but "G" got the Duke crowd into it by catching a power dunk out of the air.
8:19 p.m., Mays scores: Julius hits a nice 15 foot pull up to get State its first field goal. He looks better shooting the ball then when he has to put it on the floor. In those first four minutes there were two pretty nice blocks. C.J. Williams stuffed a Zoubek dunk from behind, and Henderson had a nice high swat of a McCauley hook shot. Duke leads 12-7 with 11:11 left in the first half. State made three shots from the field in the last four or five possessions. That is a big factor in getting the team's confidence up. The crowd is dead now in the media timeout so they will have that on their side when they resume.
8:16 p.m., Duke in front: Kyle Singler knocked down a three from the top of the key and Nolan Smith has a short jumper and that is almost all the offense from the field. Duke leads 8-1 with 14:10 to play in the first. N.C. State is a little rattled with the full court pressure, but it was expected. Look out because Julius Mays is handling the ball now for State. They need to make a bucket to get going.
8:07 p.m., Missed shots early: Duke has put up a birage of good shots and has yet to convert. You just get the feeling from the energy in this building that this game means something more. Anytime you can take a short ride to play your game you know it's a rivalry. Nolan Smith gets the first points of this game at the line two minutes in. The Duke fans gave Redick a nice curtain call before the game. You gotta think he will be forever loved around here. Sidney Lowe dons the red coat tonight. Would he ever wear that thing if he weren't on TV? Javi Gonzalez made it in for State before Mays sees the floor. Javi didn't even play against Georgia Tech. It's 1-0 Duke wiht 17 minutes to play in the opening half.
7:58 p.m., Which State team?: Duke has the ability to come out here and just torch the Pack if N.C. State isn't bringing a poised game. When you turn the ball over 20 times against Georgia Tech you could have trouble against this pressure defense from Duke. I think Farnold Degand will handle it often for State. And as I am typing this Farnold is in the starting lineup, Mays is not. C.J. Williams, the other true freshmen is starting. Guess who is in the stands above the Duke bench? I believe he is the all-time leading scorer in the conference, J.J. Redick. But seriously I know he is, and he is here.
7:49 p.m., Closing in on tip-off: I arrived very early tonight. The roads in this so-called winter storm were crystal clear in my opinion. I already sampled the pre-game meal provided for the media. It was a nice offering tonight, baked chicken in a nice marinade, dinner rolls, and green beans.
As far as this game goes how are the 10-5 Wolfpack going to handle the pressure of Duke? I have not liked what I have seen out of Julius Mays handling the ball so far this year. He is a wreck.
