RALEIGH— N.C. State had lost its lead, was suddenly facing a tie game and time was
running out.The Wolfpack
needed a hero.
So who did it turn to? The guy who
had missed three free throws in the final minute to pretty much put State in this
predicament.
But that guy turned out to be
Justin Gainey, a senior, who has made it his speciality to break the hearts of ranked
opponents.
Gainey went around a screen by
Damon Thornton and popped in a jumper over rookie Steve Blake with 1.3 seconds remaining
to give the Pack a pulsating 68-66 victory over No. 12 Maryland Thursday night. It was the
Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both N.C. State (10-1 overall) and the Terps (11-3).
That 1.3 seconds seemed like an
eternity, however, as star forward Terence Morris found himself with the ball 35 feet from
the bucket after a long inbounds pass. He sent the ball flying on line toward the hoop but
it went off glass, off rim and left 19,525 frenzied fans in the Sports and Entertainment
Arena breathing a sigh of relief.
For Gainey, it was his second
game-winner. He beat Purdue with a long three in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge last month.
“It was the exact same
play,” Gainey said. “Damon set that screen also.”
It was the end to a wild game that
saw the momentum ebb and flow throughout. The Wolfpack jumped out to an 18-4 lead and then
went 13 possessions without scoring, allowing Maryland to go ahead.
It appeared State finally had
control when Damien Wilkins swished two free throws with 3:36 remaining for a 64-58 lead.
But turnovers and questionable
shots allowed the Terps to go on an 8-2 run. When Danny Miller banked home a layup with
14.4 seconds left, Maryland had tied the game at 66.
One of the main reasons for the
tie was Gainey’s inability to hit free throws in the final minute. He missed the
front end of a one-and-one with 1:11 remaining and clanked two with 41 seconds left.
But with the game on the line,
there he was with the ball, dribbling toward the foul circle. He ran Blake, a freshman
playing his first ACC game, toward Thornton.
“We had run that play three
times before,” explained Thornton, who led the Pack with 15 points, including three
monster slam dunks. “I wanted to scoot down low and force him to go over the
top.”
Gainey, who said, “Damon read
me right,” thus had a good look from 14 feet.
“I was open. I had to knock
that one down,” said Gainey.
“As soon as it left his hand,
it looked good,” Thornton said.
But a problem arose when the Pack
players watched Morris’ rainbow from near midcourt.
“I was looking at it from
underneath and it looked good,” said power forward Kenny Inge.
“My heart stopped for a
minute,” Thornton said.
When everyone had calmed down,
Terp coach Gary Williams credited the State win to Gainey’s experience.
“Gainey probably has played
more minutes than anybody but (Ed)Cota,” he said. “We were trying to keep him
from penetrating but we didn’t. That’s a senior.”
Morris’ prayer of a shot was
just his fourth attempt in the final 10 minutes, a span where he went scoreless after
drilling 20 in the first 30 minutes. Most of the second half consisted of frantic warfare
under the basket as both teams finished with 39 rebounds and twice that many bruises.
“It’s the ACC,”
Inge said, shaking his head. “They let you play. If you don’t dunk or go up
strong, you’ll get beat up.”
With the heroics at the end, it
was easy to forget where N.C. State probably won the game — the first nine minutes of
the first half.
It was 2-2 when the Wolfpack went
on a 16-2 spurt, racking up a 18-4 advantage. Thornton had a three-pointer and a flying
slam dunk in the surge, while Anthony Grundy scored the final two baskets.
Morris then caught fire, scoring
13 points and leading the Terps to a 27-25 halftime lead.
“Our defense allowed us to
hang around until the offense got untracked in the second half,” said State coach
Herb Sendek.
“Both teams, for 40 minutes,
played their hearts out and left their guts on the floor.”
Sendek did manage a smile when
talking about his post-game interview on ESPN2.
“I had to hug Justin and ask
him if he missed those free throws on purpose so he could hit the game-winner,”
Sendek said.
“He said no.”
Gainey didn’t have time to
think about his misses. He had a game to win.
“I haven’t beaten
(Maryland) since I got here,” he said, “and when we’ve lost, it has been
ugly. So this builds our confidence to another level.”
n
NOTES: The Pack will need all the
confidence it can muster because it’s next game is Saturday night at North Carolina.
... After going 0-for-2 in 15 minutes of action in the first half, Gainey went 6-of-9
after intermission. ... Anthony Grundy had 14 points also. ... N.C. State scored 22 second
chance points. ... Blake dished out nine assists. ... Morris also had 12 rebounds. There
were 12 NBA scouts on hand to watch him. ... State shot 29 percent from the field in the
first half and 48 in the second. ... Chuck Amato, the newly appointed N.C. State football
coach, received a standing ovation at halftime. |
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