N.C. State 88, Gardner-Webb 76

Posted 1:00AM on Saturday 25th November 2006 ( 18 years ago )

RALEIGH, N.C. - Sidney Lowe figured he'd have to give his unproven North Carolina State team a trial-by-fire introduction to college basketball. So far, his team is showing a solid learning curve. Engin Atsur scored 26 points while Gavin Grant had 15 of his 23 points after the break to lead North Carolina State past Gardner-Webb 88-76 on Friday night, keeping the Wolfpack unbeaten under its new coach thanks to a strong second-half performance. Ben McCauley added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Wolfpack (4-0), which shot 66 percent after the break to erase a five-point deficit early in the period. Courtney Fells also contributed by scoring all eight of his points during the decisive second-half run against the Runnin' Bulldogs (0-5). It wasn't a complete-game performance, but it was enough to keep Lowe happy. ``We're continuing to get better,'' Lowe said. ``And again, I like the fact that we're able to bounce back when we're not playing well and come back in the second half. That's certainly something the guys should feel proud of and I'm proud of the fact that they're doing that.'' Picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference, N.C. State started the year with a struggle, rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit and scoring the go-ahead basket in the final minute to beat Wofford. In the two games since, the Wolfpack showed improved defense in a 20-point win against Delaware State and a 14-point win against Valparaiso. This time, the Wolfpack showed improvement at the other end of the court, passing up quick jumpers that marred a shaky first half in favor of fully executing its offense after halftime. After Gardner-Webb hit seven 3-pointers to take a 36-33 halftime lead, the Wolfpack tallied 14 assists on 21 baskets by working the ball inside to McCauley and Brandon Costner (11 points, 11 rebounds) or to wing players cutting through the lane. Once that happened, the Wolfpack put together a 23-6 run to take a double-digit lead. Both teams shot better than 50 percent for the game, but the Wolfpack held the Runnin' Bulldogs to one 3-pointer in the second half. N.C. State also took a 36-22 rebounding advantage, scoring 15 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds. ``We believe we have a great team,'' said Atsur, who went 10-for-15 from the field and hit four 3s. ``We might be young and inexperienced, but we have a great coaching staff. Guys are doing a great job learning every day and getting more experienced every game. That's what we need to do with a young team. We have to learn from every game and that's what we're doing right now.'' The result was another double-digit loss for Gardner-Webb, which got 20 points from Ricky McPhee and 15 from Jake Sims. The Runnin' Bulldogs haven't lost a game by fewer than 12 points this season, including a 103-50 loss just down the road at No. 2 North Carolina last week. Trailing 42-37, the Wolfpack started its spurt behind Grant, McCauley and Fells. Grant looked more assertive with nine points in the run, knocking down jumpers and drives to the basket while McCauley scored three times inside. But it wasn't until Fells got going that the Wolfpack got some breathing room. The sophomore came in averaging 10.7 points per game but went scoreless in the first half, taking only one shot and playing just seven minutes after picking up two fouls. After Grant's jumper from the right corner, Atsur found Fells for 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in front of the N.C. State bench for a 54-46 lead. Then, after Grant scored again on a drive, Fells knocked down a jumper from the elbow to close the run and give the Wolfpack a 60-48 lead with 12:24 left. Gardner-Webb got as close as 60-54 on a free throw from Thomas Sanders midway through the half, but the Wolfpack scored on its next three possessions to take momentum back. McCauley first found Atsur for a layup inside, Atsur found Grant for a layup on the next possession and Atsur closed the run with a 3 off a feed from McCauley to push the margin to 67-54 with about nine minutes left. That lead grew to as much as 20 points in the final minutes.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/11/99979