Of the men’s basketball team’s 10 losses this season, the Pack (15-10 overall, 5-7 ACC) led at halftime in five of those games yet couldn’t close out the win. Saturday’s game against Virginia (9-14 overall, 3-9 ACC) looked like it might parallel State’s Feb. 8 contest against Virginia Tech in which the Wolfpack led by 18 with 13:33 left in regulation but went on to lose 91-87 in overtime. Yet on Saturday, the Pack didn’t blow their lead, holding on to defeat the Cavaliers 72-67.
“I wish we could hold on to a lead,” freshman C.J. Williams said. “But you know teams are going to make their runs, as long as you win the game that’s all that matters.”
As fans watched Virginia’s leading scorer Sylven Landesberg hit two free throws with seven seconds left in regulation, State’s lead dwindled down to one. Senior Courtney Fells, who had the job of defending Landesberg all afternoon, responded with two free throws of his own.
A Fell’s intentional foul put Landesberg back on the line for a one-and-one. He missed his first attempt, and Fells pulled down the rebound, was subsequently fouled and knocked down two more free throws down to secure the Wolfpack win.
Sights & sounds“Baker”
A Pack fan in a navy blue bandana yelled Cavalier junior Calvin Baker’s last name every time he touched the ball and even sometimes when another Cav had the ball. In the second half, as a ball gently rolled Baker’s way, he bent down to pick it up and missed, allowing it to roll out of bounds. The fan in the bandana suggested that he use two hands from now on. Baker ended the game shooting 4-10 with 13 points, five assists and three turnovers.
Dry ice
A Wolfpack lead has the same properties of dry ice. A solid lead, just by being out in the open, evaporates into thin air. An 18-point first half lead dissipated to 4 points before halftime. Next, a 17-point second half lead evaporated as the Cavs pulled within one with seven seconds left in the game.
Grimaces of pain
30 seconds into the second half, redshirt junior Brandon Costner left the court after an injury. As he walked off the court, he was holding his left arm. “I hope you’re alright,” was shouted from the crowd. He returned to the game but only snagged a couple of rebounds and missed a jumper and a dunk. Lowe said he did not know the extent of the injury but it did not appear to be that bad.
Jaw jacking
Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg had a few words with senior Courtney Fells as Fells stepped to the charity stripe to ice the game with two seconds left. According to Fells, Landesberg was trying to get in his head, saying he was going miss the free throw. Fells responded with confidence saying he was going to sink them and threw up a “west-side” W with his hand to represent the W the team was going to get.
-compiled by Jon Laughrun
“Someone who can make a play is the difference between wining and losing games, and Fells made two,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “Landesberg is an outstanding player, and Fells did a good job chasing him around and making it tough for him, which was key to the game.”
The Wolfpack held Virginia scoreless during the first six minutes of play and began the half on a 15-2 run. In the second half, the pack once again found some early momentum, going on a 17-4 run in the first seven minutes.
The tides turned twice for the Pack, as it got sloppy and turned over the ball 20 times. Each half mirrored the other, with the Pack strong in the beginning, then allowing the Cavaliers to erase the Wolfpack’s early leads.
“This is the story of our season right now,” junior Dennis Horner said. “We get big leads and we lose. But these past few games, we’ve learned how to win by staying patient and coming out with the ‘W’.”
At the end of the first half, Virginia closed the Pack’s lead to only four points going into the locker room, 33-29.
“It’s kind of difficult because when we play in the ACC, everybody’s going to make their run no matter who it is,” Williams said. “We play a lot of games where we have big leads and end up losing. But we’re learning how to win and that’s exactly what we did tonight.”
In practice the Wolfpack has been working on their offense to minimize second half disappointments, which have become typical this season.
“Coach makes us run our offense to perfection,” Horner said. “We scrimmage with four minutes on the clock. He just wants us to be more poised with the ball and not turn it over, so that’s what we’ve really been working on.”
Coming off this weekend, the Pack now has five ACC wins under its belt and added confidence as it prepares to take on Wake Forest Feb. 26.
“This is a good position to be in,” Lowe said. “I like where we are as a team, I like our mindset. We’re trying to creep up that ladder. We’re going to control our destiny one game at a time.”
