N.C. State was bounced out of the ACC tournament in the semifinals for the second straight season and third time in four years as the Miami Hurricanes bested the Wolfpack, 81-71 Saturday afternoon in Greensboro Coliseum. With the loss, State fell to 24-10 and will return to action on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament against the Temple Owls in Dayton, Ohio.
The Pack had no answer for Miami senior guard Durand Scott, who burned N.C. State for 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor and five-for-eight from three-point range. First team All-ACC performer Shane Larkin also put on a stellar performance. The sophomore point guard tallied 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Hurricanes.
“I thought Miami was terrific,” N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “Durand Scott was unbelievable. He played well, he and Shane Larkin together. Congratulations to [Miami].”
Senior forward Scott Wood was one of the few bright spots for State, which trailed throughout the entire contest. Wood buried six-of-10 three-pointers for the game and finished with 21 points along with five rebounds.
“Obviously, we wanted to get the win,” Wood said. “At the same time, [Miami] is the No. 1 seed. They played well all year.”
“[Scott and Larkin] are awfully good,” Gottfried added. “[We] didn’t do a good enough job of containing them.”
N.C. State 75 Virginia 56
Once again, N.C. State faced a gritty Virginia team in the ACC tournament quarterfinals in a game with serious NCAA Tournament ramifications. Once again, the Wolfpack sent the Cavaliers on their way home.
The Pack knocked off the Wahoos, 75-56, on Friday afternoon in Greensboro to set up a showdown with the ACC regular season champions in the tournament semifinals for a second straight season. Last season, State also lost the only regular season matchup between the two schools but edged Virginia, 67-64, to advance.
Senior forward Scott Wood set the pace for N.C. State with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with all of his points coming from three-point range.
“When you play our team, one of the first things you do is figure out how you are going to stop Scott Wood,” Gottfried said. “Not only was he working extremely hard defensively, he changed the game; period.”
“Anytime I get the opportunity to get a good look, I am going to take advantage of it,” Wood said. “Once I knocked them down, it gave me a little more confidence.”
With the victory, N.C. State has won 48 games in the past two seasons-the most wins the Wolfpack has produced in consecutive years since 1982-83.
N.C. State 80 Virginia Tech 63
In the opening round of the 2013 ACC Tournament, fifth-seeded N.C. State throttled Virginia Tech 80-63 to advance to the quarterfinal stage.
The Pack had a balanced attack Thursday versus the Hokies. State was led by first-team All-ACC forward Richard Howell, who tallied 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior guard Lorenzo Brown finished with nine points and 12 assists, while also holding NCAA scoring leader senior guard Erick Green to 15 points on five-for-19 shooting from the floor.
“I basically fed off the energy of my teammates,” Brown said. “They did a good job of helping me on the screen and driving.”
Brown’s assist total set a school record for ACC Tournament play.
“Lorenzo Brown made up his mind he was going to do a good job,” Gottfried added. “And I thought he did.”
This is the second straight year the Pack finished the ACC regular season as a fifth-seed and once again N.C. State was paired with Virginia in the Friday quarterfinal with the winner to face the regular season champion in the semifinal on Saturday.
Junior guard Lorenzo Brown lowers his head while on the bench during the second half against Miami Saturday, March 16, 2013. Brown had six points and eight assits in the Wolfpack's 81-71 loss to the Hurricanes at the Greensboro Coliseum.
