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Wolfpack Stuns No. 1 Duke, Moves Within Game Of ACC Lead

Feb 16, 2004

RALEIGH, N.C. — Living up to its billing as the nation's best free-throw shooting team, the North Carolina State University Wolfpack made 12 straight foul shots in the final 1:10 to upset Duke, 78-74, Sunday and get its first victory over a No. 1-ranked team in almost six years.

Perhaps more importantly, the Wolfpack moved within a game of the Blue Devils in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings and got off to its best start in conference play since it last won the league.

N.C. State has won five straight ACC regular-season games for the first time in 30 years.

Marcus Melvin scored 18 points for the Wolfpack. Julius Hodge had 14 of his 18 points in the second half.

See Duke-NCSU Boxscore, Scoring Summary

Ilian Evtimov, who made his presence known in the lane, had 15.

The Blue Devils cut the NCSU lead to two points with just more than 7 seconds remaining. But Hodge made two free throws at the other end to seal perhaps NCSU's biggest victory in Herb Sendek's tenure as head coach.

Thousands of Wolfpack fans flooded the court as NCSU handed Duke its first loss in more than two months. The fans took the celebration outside, ignoring a snowfall and freezing temperature to fill the night with shouts, cheers, and an impromptu parade down Hillsborough Street.

Sendek had a difficult time making his way to the media room after countless hugs from Wolfpack supporters.

When asked the last time he hugged that many people, Sendek said: "At my wedding.

"This is obviously a very special moment for our basketball program," he said.

Duke came into the game riding an 18-game winning streak. The Blue Devils' average margin of victory during that stretch was more than 20 points a game.

The Wolfpack, despite an 8-2 ACC record and impressive home victories, came into the game as a clear underdog. But NCSU took a 10-point lead at halftime and led the entire second half in keeping pressure on the Blue Devils in the conference race.

The victory was NCSU's first against a No. 1-ranked team since it beat North Carolina on Feb. 21, 1998, and its first against a No. 1-ranked Duke team in nine attempts.

"They were very hungry," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the NCSU players. "A lot of stuff isn't about Xs and Os; it's about how much you really want it."

Said Wolfpack senior Scooter Sherrill: "You don't really hear that too much when you're playing Duke. They are always scrapping and outplaying other teams. So from that standpoint, I'm very proud of our team."

The victory moved the Wolfpack (16-5, 9-2) within one game of the Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1) with five ACC games left. It also opened the door for either Stanford or Saint Joseph's to be No. 1 on Monday.

"State made us not play well," Krzyzewski said. "It's to their credit. They have been playing outstanding basketball, and they did it again tonight, and we weren't able to match them."

Duke's defense -- its staple all season -- failed the Blue Devils all night, allowing dribble penetration on numerous possessions. The Wolfpack shot 52 percent and got half its points in the paint.

J.J. Redick had 28 points for Duke, which lost to Purdue on Nov. 29 in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Chris Duhon rallied the Blue Devils from a double-digit deficit to within two early in the second half with two long 3-pointers 37 seconds apart.

Duke could not pull closer than three until the final 7 seconds after the Wolfpack threw the ball away on an inbounds pass, and Sean Dockery hit a shot in the lane.

"They were able to dictate the style that the game was being played, and they did it well," Krzyzewski said of the Wolfpack.

The Blue Devils missed 20 of their first 27 shots and were beaten 22-9 on the glass to fall behind by 13 late in the period -- matching the team's largest deficit of the season.

Duke also matched its low for an opening half, which occurred in the season opener against Detroit.

The best shooting team in the ACC went 8 1/2 minutes with just one field goal to fall behind 36-23; the Wolfpack shot 61 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

"We came here well prepared and ready to play," Krzyzewski said. "They were better, and that knocked us back. We were kind of fortunate to be down only by 10."

N.C. State's halftime lead could have been more, but the Wolfpack coughed it up 11 times compared to twice for the Blue Devils.

Sherrill stirred the rivalry earlier in the week by saying Redick "looked like he was gay" as he ran down the court with his follow-through motion after a made shot.

The Wolfpack administration apologized a day later for Sherrill's remarks. Sherrill had a rough time keeping up with the ACC's top 3-point shooter, and picked up his fourth foul with 18:03 left.

Sherrill later came back and made six key free throws over the final 56 seconds.

"He didn't take it personally," Sherrill said of Redick. "I realized I offended some people, but I really didn't try to.

"I am sorry to the world, and I am dead serious about that. He shook my hand before the game, and I take my hat off to him."