Technician Online

December 15th, 2007

N.C. State vs. South Carolina State — 12/15/07 2:30 p.m. RBC Center

By Brian on December 15th, 2007

Second half observations from State’s 74-49 win
Posted 4:57 p.m.

Team having fun

Before the second-half swoon that saw the Wolfpack go approximately nine minutes without a field goal, teammates were finally laughing and smiling with each other both on the court and on the bench.

After having just built a 22-point lead, J.J. Hickson and Gavin Grant were laughing and joking with each other on the court — a nice sight to see on team where there are reports of chemistry issues.

Sloppy second half

Despite the Pack’s 25-point win, S.C. State made it tighter than it should have been. With just more than 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Pack built a 60-31 lead. The Bulldogs then went on a 16-3 run to pull within 16 points.

While the outcome of the game probably was never in doubt, I wanted to see State put the team away solidly. Nine minutes without a field goal does not look good. State had 60 points with 13 minutes left to play and looked like a lock to top 80 or 85 points. The Pack did not break 70 until Courtny Fells hit a three-pointer with just more than a minute to play.

Scoring 10 points in 13 minutes is a blueprint for disaster in the ACC. But the important thing is the Pack can put a win in the books after thinking about only losses for the past three weeks.

Some thoughts from the first half of the N.C. State-S.C. State basketball game
Posted 3:29 p.m.

Fast start needed

The Wolfpack really needed to come out of the gate fast in this one. They could ill afford to flounder around, letting the Bulldogs stay in the game. Early on, it looked like the Pack was going to do just that, jumping out to an 11-4 lead. But State let S.C. State right back into the game and led 13-12.

State followed with a much-needed 13-0 run to put some distance between the two teams and led by 17 at the break.

Trevor Ferguson out

Early in the first half, a few guys on press row noticed Trevor Ferguson was not on the bench. Word got around to N.C. State media relations, who were, at first, unsure of Ferguson’s whereabouts. A few phone calls later, and media relations personnel were saying Ferguson was not on the bench because he was sick.

Brian Grossman
Deputy Sports Editor

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