bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
GREENSBORO -- With 11.4 seconds remaining Saturday, 11th-seeded N.C. State trailed seventh-seeded Georgia Tech by three in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
The Wolfpack had the final possession of the game, and Coach Sidney Lowe drew up a play to get its top two 3-point shooters open.
Lowe told point guard Javier Gonzalez that he would have to make a decision between the two. When Gonzalez brought the ball up the court, the junior realized he had the best look at the basket, so he took the shot.
But unlike moments before when Gonzalez swished a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, this shot clanged off the rim and the Yellow Jackets held on for a 57-54 victory at Greensboro Coliseum.
"I thought I had a good look," Gonzalez said. "I was a little off balance, but I thought I had a good look at it. It felt good when it came off; obviously it wasn't."
Georgia Tech will face Duke, which beat 12th-seeded Miami earlier Saturday, today in the championship game (1 p.m., WRAL).
N.C. State, on the other hand, ended its surprising run through the ACC Tournament, which saw the Pack beat No. 6 seed Clemson and No. 3 seed Florida State.
The question now is: Did the Wolfpack (19-13) do enough by winning five of the past six games to earn an NIT bid? Coach Sidney Lowe and his players certainly think so.
"I think we've done a lot," guard Farnold Degand said. "We have beaten a lot of quality teams, a lot of tough teams. ... This run that we made, I think, solidifies that we are a solid team and we can compete against other good teams."
But for the first half against Georgia Tech, N.C. State did not compete very well. The Yellow Jackets (22-11) led 29-19 at halftime, as they outrebounded the Wolfpack 25-14 and held them to 30 percent shooting from the floor, including 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.
NCSU's Scott Wood opened the second half with a 3-pointer as the Wolfpack found some energy. They forced the Yellow Jackets to turn the ball over five times in the first five minutes, and the fifth turnover -- a steal by Tracy Smith -- resulted in a Gonzalez 3-pointer to tie the score at 33. And 25 seconds later, Gonzalez hit another 3-pointer to give the Wolfpack its first lead of the game.
Smith finished with a team-high 15 points, while Gonzalez added nine points -- all 3-pointers.
"We just came out with more tempo and more intensity," said N.C. State's Dennis Horner, who had seven points. "We hit some shots. We were getting stops and the crowd got with us and we started rolling, but we gave it away there at the end."
N.C. State led by as many as four, but Georgia Tech kept chipping away and a jumper by Derrick Favors put his team up 47-46 with 2:52 to play. A pair of free throws by D'Andre Bell made the lead three, and then the Yellow Jackets pushed their lead to six after scoring a free throw and bucket off an intentional foul called on Gonzalez.
Iman Shumpert had stolen the ball from Gonzalez at halfcourt and passed it to Favors, who was going toward the basket when Gonzalez grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to the floor. Gonzalez was immediately whistled for an intentional foul, but Georgia Tech players quickly surrounded him and both teams had to be separated by the referees.
"I was just trying to prevent him from getting a dunk," Gonzalez said. "I know he is not a great free throw shooter, and I was just trying to stop him."
The Yellow Jacket seemed to be in control with a six-point lead with 43.3 seconds to play, but then Degand made a pair of free throws and Shumpert missed two on the other end to give NCSU the ball with 31 seconds to go. Gonzalez hit a 3-pointer after a miss by Wood, but Gonzalez could not repeat his heroics seconds later as Georgia Tech advanced to the ACC title game.
Favors had a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds, while Gani Lawal added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"Honestly, I knew it was going to be a dogfight, but I didn't think it was going to come down to [the last play]," said Bell, who had nine points. "I figured because of our front court and Gani [and [Derrick] Favors that we would have won comfortably, but as you can see. ..."
