RALEIGH — Coming off a loss where Damien Wilkins and Anthony Grundy were a combined 7-for-37, N.C. State knew it had to head down another avenue if the Wolfpack was going to break out of its 0-3 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Against Georgia Tech Tuesday night in the Entertainment and Sports Arena, it was defense that led to a convincing 72-60 victory.
“We knew we’d win with defense,” said Grundy, who was a forgettable 6-for-27 in Saturday’s 72-69 loss at Clemson.
Defense turned into offense, especially for Grundy, who scored 11 first-half points and 17 for the game. He helped State (1-3, 9-6) climb out of the league cellar.
As much of a turnaround as the game was for State, it was even more so for the Yellow Jackets. In its last two games, Georgia Tech had defeated ranked foes Virginia and Wake Forest with startling offensive efficiency.
Tuesday night? 20 turnovers and 40 percent shooting. State also outrebounded the Jackets 39-29, leaving beleaguered coach Herb Sendek practically giddy.
“I was really happy for our players tonight,” he said. “They were really determined to go out there and turn things around for us. They refused to yield defensively and I couldn’t be more pleased.
“Our defense was outstanding. Our rebounding was probably the best it has been all season.”
Tech actually started out well and N.C.State was missing the shots. Wilkins was 1-for-6 in the first half, scoring two points, bringing his last game-and-a-half totals to 2-for-16.
Scooter Sherrill gave State its first lead at 9-7 after entering the game as the first sub and immediately taking a steal the length of the court for a layup.
“We play the gaps a lot,” explained the former West Rowan High School All-American. “I was kinda out of position right there. But I picked it off and laid it in.”
Sherrill then had two pretty assists, one to Damon Thornton and the other to Kenny Inge. But the Pack still trailed 19-12 late in the first half.
That’s when State suddenly caught fire and went on a 24-4 run. When Tech coach Paul Hewitt called his second timeout of the second half at the 16:35 mark, his team trailed 36-23.
Wilkins was the key. He started the last 20 minutes with a strong drive for two and followed it up with a layup off a Grundy assist for a 28-21 lead.
Tech would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, that coming on a 3-point play by Alvin Jones that cut the margin to 40-33. Back-to-back threes by Wilkins and Clifford Crawford and two free throws by Grundy pushed the margin to 48-33.
From that point, State played defense and the usually-effective outside bombing by the Jackets blew up in their faces.
Tony Akins shot just twice in the first half and finished 3-for-8. Shaun Fein was 1-for-7 in the first half and finished 3-of-11. Freshman gunner Halston Lane looked like a deer in the headlights and shot just once. He missed, of course.
“N.C. State did a good job of contesting our shooters,” Hewitt shrugged.
“Our guys were really focused out there and there were really no defensive breakdowns,” said Sendek.
Hewitt was left to wonder why his Yellow Jackets (10-6, 2-3) went into hiding.
“We were lethargic tonight for some reason and I couldn’t figure out why,” he said. “That wasn’t us out there for the last 15 minutes.”
“Ireally don’t know what happened,” added Fein. “Igot my shots, I just didn’t finish. I just think they made a run and we missed our shots. They got some dunks and when you do that, you get excited.”
Thornton was doing most of the dunking and dominating inside, finishing with 15 boards to go with his nine points. Inge had eight rebounds, 15 points and was 11-of-12 from the foul line.
Now, with an ACCwin finally secure, Wilkins would like nothing better than to put a finish on all this talk about what’s wrong with the Wolfpack and the scrutiny directed at his coach.
“Everybody jumps on the bandwagon when you win and they say things when you lose,” he said. “But Coach Sendek is a tough guy.”
Even Hewitt was willing to pat his opponent on the back.
“N.C. State needed this game,” he said. “Igive them credit.”
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NOTES:Wilkins had 14 points, the fourth Wolfpack player in double figures. Crawford had 13, all in the second half, to go with three steals and five assists. ... Sherrill’s early bucket was his only points in 14 minutes. ... The Pack outscored Tech 23-9 at the foul line. ... The previous six games between these two foes had been decided by 4.2 points. ... Jones was the only effective Yellow Jacket with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. ... The Wolfpack hosts Maryland at 3:30 Sunday (ABC).
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