Pack Wins In Lowe-vertime: NCSU 84 – Miami 81

08-09 Basketball General186

UPDATE: 850 The Buzz has put post-game interviews online.

Julius Mays sank a three-pointer from the top of the key with 2.8 ticks left on the clock to give NC State a three point win in OT.  Sidney Lowe moved to 5-0 in overtime games, and he did so with a combination of solid coaching moves, tenacity by his team on the floor and some good luck at key moments down the stretch of the extra period.

1 2 OT T
Miami Hurricanes 25 45 11 81
NCSU Wolfpack 39 31 14 84

Courtney Fells had 24 points to lead the Wolfpack, who blew a 19-point lead early in the second half and a pair of leads late in regulation and in overtime before Mays shot sealed the win for the Pack. Brandon Costner added 21 points and Ben McCauley had 12.

Your post-game thoughts here.

ht: “russelbuzz” of 850 The Buzz’s Blog for “Lowe-vertime” phrase.  We like it.
08-09 Basketball General

186 Responses to Pack Wins In Lowe-vertime: NCSU 84 – Miami 81

  1. MrPlywood 01/27/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    Shoot! Missed it. But since I missed the other ACC win maybe I am sensing a trend.

  2. buttPACKer 01/27/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    WOW!

    that should really boost Mays’ confidence. . . it did mine.

    great win, but I still hate to see us continually letting our leads just dry up.

  3. Jamie 01/27/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    We got 4 days to savor this one, and we better enjoy it. I hate to be the eternal pessimist, but I don’t see many more on the schedule.

  4. BassPacker 01/27/2009 at 9:16 PM #

    Big win for Pack tonite, it could have been a season ending blow for team and Sid being up by 19 at home then lose. A couple lucky breaks fall our way, one the Fergie bank prayer 3 pt shot and Mays last second shot.

    Maryland lost, so the ACC cellar lid is closing for Pack.

  5. BAC79 01/27/2009 at 9:16 PM #

    A monumental meltdown to get outscored 31-11 BUT they never quit. Maybe just maybe this will instill a little confidence in the team and coaching staff.

  6. MrPlywood 01/27/2009 at 9:16 PM #

    From the box score it looks like Fells made up for a lot of his mistakes tonight. And the team shot 52% from 3? Wow.

  7. SouthernWolf 01/27/2009 at 9:16 PM #

    Julius Mays has ICE WATER IN HIS VEINS!!! RED AND WHITE!!!! GO WOLFPACK!!!!

  8. buttPACKer 01/27/2009 at 9:17 PM #

    yeah, Jamie, I think you’re spot-on.–I truly believed we were going to find a way to lose this one, too.

  9. BJD95 01/27/2009 at 9:19 PM #

    I am very thankful we didn’t have to watch a second OT sans Costner and Degand.

    I can’t believe Mays came off the bench cold and made the winning shot (NBA distance 3).

    I can’t believe Sid played Simon Harris the entire OT period, without any regulation minutes.

    I can’t believe Sid went with Horner instead of Smith after Costner fouled out.

    I can’t believe Degand f-ed up so royally in the last minute of OT after an otherwise flawless performance.

    Hallelujah, will I ever take the win.

  10. choppack1 01/27/2009 at 9:20 PM #

    This game was all about heart and not giving up. This guys may not be ultimate acheivers, but they’re not quitters – very proud of this team tonight.

    We made a lot of mental mistakes, but we made some good things happen too.

    I didn’t originally like the play that Sid drew up out of the TO for Fells – I would have gone into McCauley or had Fells shoot the 3 – BUT – because the play was so quick – even after the U got the 3 points, we had plenty of time for the last possession.

    That shot is why I want Mays out there even as a 2 as one of our lineup options. Great game by Degand – I think the out of bounds play is more forgiveable than the foul because there were 3 white jerseys and one dark one…I hope he doesn’t let the last 2 mistakes hurt his confidence.

  11. com state10 01/27/2009 at 9:20 PM #

    Congrats to BigBen who I believe scored his 1,000th point tonight in OT.

    Mays- Thank you
    Fells- Welcome back.
    Degand- Ultimate control besides the one throw away in OT.
    Costner- huge 3 to keep us from falling apart when we were down 58-56.
    Harris- How did you get out there? There is no way anybody in their right mind would put you in OT for the first time in five games.

    Sid, I support you all the time. I like the starting line up and PT, but I can not explain or back you up tonight when you put Harris in for OT. Inexcusable.

    Hopefully this helps their confidence in close games, this may help us steal another late.

    Great ball movement for at least 3/4 of the game. Fun to watch and the crowd was great for the most part. Enjoy this one folks.

    GO PACK!!!!

  12. graywolf 01/27/2009 at 9:20 PM #

    Nice win. Now maybe Lowe is learning just a little about game management. I hope it pays off the rest of the season.

    Go Pack!

  13. SouthernWolf 01/27/2009 at 9:21 PM #

    “We got 4 days to savor this one, and we better enjoy it. I hate to be the eternal pessimist, but I don’t see many more on the schedule.”

    Oh Yee of Little Faith we have one on the schedule this Saturday which we can (theoretically) win (with enough prayers and a helping hand from the basketball gods). Do not give up so easily Saturdays game may yet prove our finest hour.

  14. vtpackfan 01/27/2009 at 9:21 PM #

    How many luck breaks did Miami get. Atleast our shooting % was aided by actually setting up open guys. Besides McClint and Collins the rest just throw it up with guys covering them all up. Graduate McClinton next year and this will be the worst ACC team.

  15. wolfonthehill 01/27/2009 at 9:21 PM #

    We only had to hit 14 three-pointers to win at home… in overtime… over a mid-tier ACC team.

    I’m still not sold… or excited… but good win.

  16. Chaos & Disorder 01/27/2009 at 9:22 PM #

    “sid wont be able to tell the guys how to go out and get another score….its beyond him. double OT at best…”

    Sorry to disappoint you, inhoc. 🙂

  17. JeremyH 01/27/2009 at 9:23 PM #

    didn’t we do this to Miami last year? (Gavin Grant stole the inbounds pass)

  18. Dr. BadgerPack 01/27/2009 at 9:24 PM #

    Sid overall coached pretty well tonight. And hey, he’s 5-0 in OT now. Not too bad.

    Other than Harris in (although I surmise is was due to defensive ability), I liked his substitution pattern. Need that to be a trend now and not an anomally.

    Between Mays, Thomas and Smith– even Williams– there is a good foundation of 4 year players in. Most importantly, Mays will be a fixture at guard and should improve. I do think, despite some misses, Sid has an eye for talent; he identified Mays very early, Thomas was his first real recruit, Williams and Smith will be solid. That foundation of 3-4 year players is what is essential BEFORE the 5 star studs come in. If you have a core that is on your wavelength, then you can handle the one-and-done type without being set back.

    We sit at a minimum of 2 wins in the first 8, right at what I predicted… (I think!). Let’s hope my 5 wins in the last 8 is at least as accurate.

    Good win Wolfpack! Even though you gave me a heart attack. 🙂

    I know Kay is looking down smiling tonight.

  19. packbackr04 01/27/2009 at 9:24 PM #

    i like how sid called a quick pick and pop with 41 secs left in regulationwhile we were up by 1… what planet is he from????? melt the clock and take a shot and give the other team 5-10 seconds to get a shot of their own. sid is by far the worst coach in the ACC

  20. choppack1 01/27/2009 at 9:24 PM #

    BJD – Harris actually game in for the last possession of regulation as a defensive substution. He did a pretty solid job in his role as a defender out there – not as good as Fells, but he’s a different kind of player for us – physcial, strong and quick enough to cause some problems.

    One of the bizarre things to me was the Miami actually D’d up on him.

    I do think it was odd that Horner took Smith’s minutes, but let’s assume Lowe had his reasons.

    I do wonder if Thomas’ knee flamed up again.

    Does anyone else think that maybe Sid has too many options at this point – none of them are totally right answers, but are none are totally wrong either?

  21. BAC79 01/27/2009 at 9:26 PM #

    Did you read the article about the coach who got fired for winning 100-0? Obviously his school never watched us play. No lead is too large.

    Great win, hope we can build on this, at least they did not mail it in and kept fighting. That is something to cheer about.

  22. blackdom 01/27/2009 at 9:26 PM #

    Just like GT Fells,Costner and Ben led the way.

  23. SouthernWolf 01/27/2009 at 9:27 PM #

    We need this resurgence from Courtney Fells to continue. Remember Sid’s first year when we beat a highly ranked UNC at home in large part thanks to Fells dominating performance? We need him to continue along this line, maybe his ankle is finally healed. Btw he made some key defensive plays as well. If he can make this effort against miami a consistent performance, then our whole teams play will be elevated tremendously (even though he made a few bad passes).

  24. JeremyH 01/27/2009 at 9:28 PM #

    SouthernWolf: that would be impossible, but I’ll still watch it.

  25. Rochester 01/27/2009 at 9:28 PM #

    Mays had the balls to want and take the big shot. I know Costner does too, but unfortunately he was long gone. We need to know who the guys are who want it when the game’s on the line. There aren’t many.

    Awesome comeback. Sucks to have to say that after we were up 19, but these guys battled and I screamed myself hoarse at the end. What an exciting finish.

    I strongly suspect we’re going to grow to love Julius Mays.

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