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With 17 seconds left in the game, Wofford guard Shane Nicholas had a chance to give his team the lead with a jumper from the left wing. But sophomore guard Courtney Fells used all 7-foot 1-inch of his wingspan to get the tip of his middle finger on the ball helping secure a 92-88 win for N.C. State and start the Sidney Lowe era on a positive note.
Fells said after the game Lowe told the team that Nicholas, who finished the game 5-for-9 from three-point range, was going to get the ball and for Fells to stick with him on the play.
“We knew [Nicholas] was going to get the ball,” Fells said. “So [coach Lowe] just told me to follow him on all the screens and make him try to put it on the floor. But he tried to shoot the shot so I just got my hand up a little bit and I was able to tip the ball.”
In the first half alone, the Terriers made 65.6 percent of their shots and were 11 of 19 from behind the three-point line.
“They played a heck of a game,” sophomore forward Ben McCauley said. “I give them all the credit in the world. They set their screens and got open looks and they converted.”
Lowe, on the other hand, attributed most of Wofford’s blistering offensive numbers to a lack of defensive intensity in the first 20 minutes.
“We were very passive in the first half,” Lowe said. “But we came out more aggressive in the second half and got into some passing lanes, really bothered the dribbler a little better and just made it difficult for them to get into their stuff.”
The difference in defensive diligence became evident in the second half as the Wolfpack erased a nine-point Wofford halftime lead and held the hot-shooting-Terriers to just 35 percent from the field.
On the offensive end, State was more consistent throughout the game — shooting 54 percent from the field and scoring more than 40 points in both halves.
The Pack also outscored Wofford in the paint by 32, something McCauley, who scored a game high 26 points, said was a major part of State’s game plan.
“Coach Lowe really concentrated on working the ball inside,” McCauley said. “And it was working for us. Our guards played well and made good looks inside and I just happened to make them.”
One of those guards was senior Engin Atsur. Atsur, who sat out the second half of the second exhibition game because of a sore Achilles tendon and who Lowe said after that game was not ready to go 40 minutes, played 38 minutes in the game and scored 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting.
Fells said the offense runs better with Atsur at the point.
“He’s the most experienced player that we have,” Fells said. “With him out there with us the team is more calm and relaxed.”
After the game, Atsur said he was in good shape physically but his heel still needed some time to mend.
“I’m good conditioning wise,” he said. “My heel just has to get better. It’s going to be sore for a while.”
But despite Atsur’s sore heel and the hot shooting of the opponent, State and Lowe are 1-0. And according to the coach, the team is just happy to get a win, even if it’s a four point come-from-behind victory over Wofford.
“A win is a win. You’ll take a win any way you can,” Lowe said. “Certainly there are things that you might take out of that game that you have to work on or want to straighten out. But you’ll take a win any way you can get it.”
