BY TONY HAYNES
Raleigh, N.C. – One of these days, coach Sidney Lowe figures he’ll actually be able to relax and enjoy the final moments of an NC State basketball game. Just once, he’d like to empty the bench with three minutes showing on the clock, take a seat and share a few laughs with his coaching staff.
Those moments have been few and far between this season, and the opportunities to have a low-stress finish to a basketball game are running out.
After hosting Presbyterian (1-17) at 2:30 on Saturday and entertaining North Carolina Central next Wednesday night, the Wolfpack (9-3) will conclude non-conference play. After that, a grueling 16-game ACC slate will begin with a trip to North Carolina on January 12.
Say this for the 2007-08 Wolfpack: this is a team that will keep you in your seat, in front of the TV set or close by your radio until the finals seconds tick off the clock.
Aside from fairly easy victories over William & Mary and South Carolina State, and a blowout loss at Michigan State, the outcome of most of NC State’s games hasn’t been decided until the final minute.
And although the Pack was stunned in a pair of close losses to New Orleans and East Carolina, it has usually found a way to execute and perform in the most pressurized of situations. In capturing the Old Spice Classic in Orlando over Thanksgiving, NC State pulled out close victories over Rider and South Carolina before slipping past Villanova by a point on a pair of Gavin Grant free throws in the title game.
In December, Grant again had the game-winning free throws to beat Davidson before the Pack worked hard in competitive wins over Cincinnati and Seton Hall. Last Saturday, NC State had to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit in a 74-62 victory over Western Carolina.
The end result has been a five-game winning streak that NC State will try to push to six on Saturday.
“I told our guys that they’ve shown great character, great confidence and work ethic when we’ve been down and been in tough situations,” Lowe said. “They’ve come back and they’ve made plays, which is what you have to do down the stretch to win games. They’ve done it game in and game out. Now we’ve got to do it early in the ballgame. We know that we can do it; now let’s do it early. A lot of people don’t start fighting until their back is up against the wall. We’re trying to get the mindset that we have to come out and play at the beginning like our backs are against the wall.”
Last Saturday’s game against the Catamounts was, to a certain extent, a microcosm of the season. After allowing Western Carolina to build a nine-point advantage on 7-of-10 shooting from the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes, the Wolfpack, armed with more urgency, locked down in the second half and held the Catamounts to just 24 percent shooting (8-of-33) after the break.
The rebounding problems that hurt the Pack earlier in the season now appear to be under control. NC State has outrebounded four of the five opponents during its winning streak. The offensive execution is also coming around. The Wolfpack has shot above 50 percent in four games this season, but three of those performances have come in the last three games.
Now with Carolina and the ACC a week away, Lowe continues to pound away at the importance of maintaining a consistent defensive intensity throughout every game for the remainder of the season.
“You keep talking about it and you keep working at it,” Lowe said. “When we huddle up before going out on the floor, I show a set, but then I talk about defense. I don’t really talk about offense. I want to keep our minds strictly on defense and stopping people. It’s really going to turnaround when we have some success, when we come out and have a chance to get out on someone, defend, and get an early lead.”
Maybe that will happen against Presbyterian on Saturday or perhaps against North Carolina Central next week. If it doesn’t, Lowe may not have another chance to empty the bench and chill out at the end of a game.
Hickson Hot: NC State freshman J.J. Hickson knows his place is in the paint. And when he gets there with the ball, very few teams have been able to stop him. In his last two games, the 6-9 Georgia native has converted on 15-of-16 field goal attempts, pushing his league best field goal percentage to 71.4 percent (75-105). Hickson is also fourth in the ACC in scoring (17.8 ppg.) and rebounding (8.3).
To the Point: Lowe says freshman Javier Gonzalez will continue to be NC State’s starter at the point guard position with sophomore Marques Johnson coming off the bench. In the two games since Farnold Degand went down with a season-ending knee injury, Johnson has actually averaged more minutes (23-17) than Gonzalez. Lowe says Degand will be having surgery to repair a torn ACL very soon.
On the Road Again: Saturday’s meeting with NC State will be a difficult road game for Presbyterian. Big deal. In its first year playing Division one basketball, the Blue Hose are taking one for the school and the program by playing 19 of their first 21 games on the road. Presbyterian’s only victory this season, a 62-60 triumph over Radford on December 1, also happened to be the only home game it has played to this point. The Blue Hose were tied with Wake Forest with 10 minutes to play before losing 70-58 earlier in the week.
Courtesy: Associated Press
