NC State
#7 North Carolina
State falls to No. 7 North Carolina
2/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2012
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Raleigh, N.C. - Even as NC State nearly doubled North Carolina's inside scoring on Tuesday night, the No. 7 Tar Heels hit twice their average in 3-point shots and raced to an 86-74 victory in front of a sell-out crowd at the RBC Center.
The Heels (24-4, 11-2 ACC) average only five baskets from beyond the arc this season, but had seven by halftime and a total of 10 for the game. UNC sophomore guard Kendall Marshall, who had only made six 3-pointers against ACC opponents this season, hit a career-high four of his five long-range shots en route to a team-high 22 points.
Still, State (18-10, 7-6) had strong play from its front court, led by a career-high 24 points and a season-high 12 rebounds from sophomore C.J. Leslie before he fouled out with 1:09 remaining in the game. Junior Richard Howellhad nine points and 10 rebounds for the Pack, which outscored Carolina 42-22 in the paint and 16-8 on second chance points.
NC State coach Mark Gottfriedsaid the team's game plan was to limit the Tar Heels' inside scoring, figuring a team that had the third-fewest 3-pointers in the ACC might struggle with its outside shooting on the road.
"You have to try to take away something," Gottfried said. "They have been so dominant in the paint this year, we wanted to try to take that away and see how much we could make them miss from the outside."
The Tar Heels' foiled that strategy from the outset, hitting 10 of 19 3-point attempts, while the Wolfpack was just three of 13. Junior Scott Wood made one of four, while sophomore Lorenzo Brownmade one of six.
"We did a lot of good things in the game, we just didn't defend well enough on the perimeter," Gottfried said. "They stepped up and took some good shots and made them. They made them early and they made them late in the game."
Both Leslie and Howell were hindered with foul trouble, as the Wolfpack committed 20 fouls to Carolina's 14. Leslie fouled out, while Howell played most of the second half with four and senior C.J. Williamshad four.
"We're not a deep team," Gottfried said. "We seem every night to find ourselves in a hole. We have to do a better job of not committing those fouls."
Overall, however, the Pack played well, committing a season-low four turnovers in the game, one in the first half and three in the second. The previous season-low was nine in the Feb. 4 game against Wake Forest.
The Tar Heels built a quick 19-5 lead in the opening five and a half minutes of the game, thanks in part to Kendall Marshall's three first half 3-pointers and Reggie Bullock's two.
NC State sophomore Lorenzo Brown led the Pack on a mini-run to cool off the Heels, closing the gap to eight points at the 12:39 mark. The Wolfpack got back in the game for good with an 11-0 run on a layup by junior Richard Howell, a pair of dunks by Leslie, a 3-pointer by Brown and an athletic reverse layup by senior C.J. Williams.
The Tar Heels owned a slight 46-41 advantage at intermission and scored the first two baskets of the second half to get its lead back to double figures. With a little over 11 minutes to play, the Wolfpack was hanging close, trailing only 62-55 following a free throw by Brown.
Tyler Zeller and John Henson then led the Heels on a 9-0 run to effectively end the Pack's hopes.
"I thought we competed well throughout the game," Gottfried said. "I'm not disappointed in our effort. We didn't have enough offense on our end and they stepped up and made big shots.
"I though they did a much better job of defending us. We have to find our offense and our shooting touch, which we seem to have lost that in these last few games. We have to be more efficient on offense."
The Wolfpack travels to Clemson on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. contest with the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Pack concludes its regular-season home schedule next Wednesday night against Miami in a 9 p.m. contest at the RBC Center.
