WASHINGTON— Amid all the uncertainty surrounding N.C. State’s loss Sunday, one cold, hard fact remained.
The Wolfpack’s season was over.
A foul call that was and another that wasn’t will be debated incessantly by N.C. State fans following their team’s exit from the NCAA Tournament. When second-seeded Connecticut slipped away with a 77-74 victory yesterday at the MCI Center, No. 7 N.C. State’s postseason run ended.
“We played our hearts out. Connecticut is a real good team,”said State freshman Julius Hodge, front and center amid the controversy. “We were in the game all the way until the end. It’s unfortunate for a game to be decided by an official’s call at the end, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
Amazingly, the 40-minute contest boiled down to three decisive possessions in the final 11 seconds, all with a trip to Syracuse for the Sweet 16 on the line.
The Huskies (26-6) held a 72-71 lead with less than 20 seconds remaining when sophomore Caron Butler took a pass near the top of the 3-point arc and went to work. The shot clock counted down toward zero as Butler tried to shake Hodge.
In the same instant, Butler rose in the air for a 3-pointer, Hodge jumped at him to defend it, the shot clock horn sounded and an ever-so-faint whistle blew. Time seemingly stood still as the ball bounced off the front of the rim, hit the backboard and rimmed out.
The players all stopped. Happy N.C. State players thought a shot-clock violation had been called. Then the Wolfpack turned and saw referee Scott Thornley holding three fingers in the air, pointing at Hodge.
Foul on the play. Three free throws upcoming with 11.4 seconds to play.
“I just tried my best to contain Butler and the officials, they made a call,”Hodge said. “I can’t do nothing about that. I don’t think I fouled him, but I didn’t have the whistle. He made the call and I’ve got to live with that.”
Hodge collapsed to the floor in disbelief, on his knees with his head pressed against the hardwood. State senior Anthony Grundy hurried over to haul him to his feet.
“He told me, ‘Come on, man, you can’t let this destroy you. You know it was a bad call and you’re a good player. Just keep on playing and keep your head up,’ ” Hodge recalled.
The MCI Center exploded with boos — from more than just the Wolfpack section — as Butler stepped to the line. He drained all three free throws as part of a career-high 34-point performance.
“I know I got fouled. Hodge was doing a great job defending me and I freed myself by making a crossover,”Butler said. “I kind of hesitated to take the shot, then I pulled up, he hit my forearm and the rest is history.”
Ah, but the final 11.4 seconds can’t be glossed over so easily.
N.C. State (23-11) raced down the floor trailing 75-71 when Ilian Evtimov got the ball in the corner in front of the Wolfpack bench. The freshman rose in front of several Huskies, nailed the 3 — and ended up sitting with his teammates following a collision as he shot the ball.
State’s players leaped into the air, demanding a foul on their 3-point shot.
Tit for tat: Send Evtimov to the line for a chance at a game-tying free throw.
“When Ilian hit the shot from the corner, we just asked for the same call,”State head coach Herb Sendek said. “He hit the deck. Obviously, that call wasn’t made.”
The whistle did sound, but only for a Wolfpack timeout, stopping the clock at 4.3 seconds.
“I’m not really sure. It happened so fast,”Evtimov said when asked if he was fouled. “I just shot the ball and then I was on the floor.”
He then paused for the slightest instant.
“Usually when you take a shot, you come down on your feet.”
The Huskies inbounded the ball to Butler, who returned to the free-throw line with 3.6 seconds left. Nothing but net on two more free throws. State needed a 3 to force overtime.
Hodge took the inbounds pass and weaved through traffic. From straight on, he took to the sky off one foot and launched a shot from 10 feet behind the 3-point arc. It hit the rim as the buzzer sounded.
“I felt that shot was as good as any shot I’ve taken this year. It was right on line,”Hodge said. I just hoped for the best. When it hit the rim, at first I thought it was in for sure. Then it hit off the backboard and it came out. It didn’t go in this time.”
Hodge again hit the deck, this time lying prone. After the game, the Pack’s larger-than-life character looked like he wanted to disappear deep into his hooded sweatshirt. His normally ebullient chatter was reduced to little more than a whisper.
“I just felt like Iwas cheated. I’ve been working hard my whole life just to be in this situation,”Hodge said. “For the game to be decided on a bad call by an official, that’s real hard to swallow.”
The debate raged on from every stall in the State locker room.
“I was standing right beside him and I didn’t see Julius touch him one bit,”said Marcus Melvin, whose 15 points helped pace State’s second-half rally.
“I saw one ref do this,” Melvin continued, patting his head in the shot-clock violation signal, “and I saw another ref run over there and call the foul. It seemed like they had two different things going on. I wish they could’ve let us decide that game.”
“I was surprised,”added Evtimov. “I thought the referee called shot violation first and I turned around and saw him put three fingers up. I said, ‘Oh, no.’ ”
Grundy echoed that sentiment.
“It was more of a sigh. He made the call,”Grundy said in a calm, reasoned tone. “Maybe they did (make a mistake), maybe they didn’t. They’re human, they judge. We make mistakes, they make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes.
“It’s interesting,”Grundy concluded of his final game with the Pack. “It’s not a bad way to go out. We’re just happy to be put in the situation we were in.”
But not as happy as if that final 11.4 seconds had gone a little differently.
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