NC State takes down Boston College on Senior Day, 66-54

09-10 Basketball College Basketball General72
Photo courtesy Ethan Hyman/N&O. Click the photo for more images from Saturday's win.

Photo courtesy Ethan Hyman/N&O. Click the photo for more images from Saturday's win.

When Dennis Horner hit the RBC Center hardwood with 18:13 left in Saturday’s game with Boston College, he got up with blood streaming down the right side of his face. Head coach Sidney Lowe said he wasn’t sure if the senior forward would return.

Return he did. All it took was a few stitches and some super glue. Horner proceeded to score 10 points in the final 10:55 to lead the Wolfpack past Boston College 66-54 on senior day. Horner finished with 14 points. Junior forward Tracy Smith led NC State with a game-high 19 points while CJ Williams added 14 of his own.

“I heard it and I walked out there and saw the blood, I was concerned,” Lowe said. “I didn’t know if he was coming back out or not and the next thing I knew he was sitting right there on the bench and I saw him and said ‘Jesus kid let’s go in the game’. It definitely was a scary moment.”

Horner said the hard foul by Boston College’s Josh Southern wasn’t a dirty play despite the result.

“I just landed, and I guess it landed right there and split it open,” Horner said of the gash just above his right eyebrow. “That’s basketball.”

Julius Mays, who scored six points and dished out four assists in 23 minutes, said he wasn’t a bit surprised to see Horner come back in the game and play well after everything he’s been through this season with injuries.

“Typical Dennis,” Mays said with a smile. “He’s always taking hard falls, getting hurt and staying hurt. Bad knees, always sick. To see him come back and play through it on senior night and knock down two or three big shots was a great feeling.”

While NC State ended up on a positive note, picking up its third win in four games, the beginning of senior night started about as poor as it could have. NC State turned the ball over six times in the first 4 minutes and 47 seconds and let BC get out to a six point lead at 8-2.

“Senior day didn’t start off well for us but I thought the guys did a good job coming off the bench and when those first unit guys came back in they continued to play well,” Lowe said.”Great, great effort on our teams part. We had a lot of guys that really contributed.”

After struggling for the first six minutes, NC State played well for the remainder of the game, using a 19 to five run to close out the game and the regular season. The Wolfpack did not commit a single turnover in the decisive second half and finished with just 10 for the game. Farnold Degand, the other senior honored prior to Saturday’s game, finished with one point in 15 minutes.

“The last couple of games in the ACC we’ve been clicking and when everyone is rolling we can play with anybody in the country,” Horner said. “We beat Duke, Wake Forest, at Florida State and at Marquette it shows that we can play with people. We’re just rolling into the tournament confident.”

Lowe said it’s good to see the team playing well late in the year after having suffered through tough losses early in the year and during the ACC season. He said his team is starting to figure out what it takes.

“We’re figuring out some things about ourselves and how we have to play to win. We’ve played better lately. We’re playing better than we played early in conference play and this is a little momentum for us,” he said. “It’s something to take into the tournament. It’s definitely a positive.”

NC State will take the court in the first round of the ACC Tournament Thursday night at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Raycom.

09-10 Basketball College Basketball General

72 Responses to NC State takes down Boston College on Senior Day, 66-54

  1. Thinkpack17 03/08/2010 at 10:33 AM #

    “If Thomas is graduating early, or the he is leaving due to his knee, then yesterday may have been his “senior day” as well. I’m wondering if Sidney didn’t give him some time, and since he was doing well, extend that as far a Thomas’ knee would let him. It has long been speculated that Thomas’ scholarship would be available next year if needed.”

    That’s a great point.

  2. packfan03 03/08/2010 at 10:42 AM #

    Whatever your take is on Lowe, NCSU basketball, you have to acknowledge (perhaps not agree, but acknowledge) that preseason predictions placed us last in the ACC. These predictions noted our lack of talent and athleticism, both of which I have seen throughout the course of the season.

    We finished in a tie for 9th, and everyone is STILL complaining. If you are upset with where NCSU is at year four, so be it. It’s fairly unreasonable to be upset with any notion of “underachieving” when, within the context of preseason polls and recruiting rankings, we exceeded expectations.

    It’s obviously disheartening to be in the cellar for yet another season, but Sid will prove to be an effective coach when he has the talent to compete. We all know it’s make or break next season for him, so let’s have some positivity and hope that our team doesn’t underachieve next year.

  3. choppack1 03/08/2010 at 11:09 AM #

    packfan03 – Let me get this right – your “argument” that Lowe is doing a good job is based on the fact that he has won ONE more game than 1 team in the conference???

    Or maybe, just maybe those who picked the standings factored in what they expected to see FROM the bench.

    I don’t think this team overacheived…I think this team played at a very similar level to 2 of his 3 previous teams. They were focused, prepared and intense some games – and just went through the motions on others. Many games, we sucked on the boards – and most games, we were mediocre defensively.

    I hope – I really hope that we’re turning some kind of corner here. In Lowe’s first year, I was concerned w/ the same kind of effort that we’ve seen his entire career. However, when we finished strong, I was convinced that Lowe had learned to appreciate the intensity that had to to be brough every night you step on the college court. It certainly didn’t work out that way…a team that was a trendy pick to end up in the Top 25 finished 4-12 in the ACC.

    We’ll know just how good Lowe is next year…if we juxtapose our record here and go 10-6 or better – we should be excited. However, if we 8-8 or 7-9, I’m afraid our best case is what GaTech is living through right now. (And so we’re clear – we’d have a LOT of improving to do to get to that level of success.)

  4. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 11:33 AM #

    wow, i’m shocked that we are 3rd best in attendance and proud all at once. we are some dang good fans.. especially with what we had to cheer for this year. i only made it to the new orleans game but would have been to more if time permitted.

    how cool is julius hodge! i wonder what he meant by “in the bag” on his tweetage.

  5. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 11:37 AM #

    so what exactly do some of the more pessimistic fans say about a team that has limited ability, that went through a very tough stretch of losses, frustrating losses at that, include the fluke losses, and still maintain the level of effort that they did AND WIN THREE OF THE LAST FOUR?

    I’m just wondering how said people would answer this question?

  6. choppack1 03/08/2010 at 12:07 PM #

    I think it’s great. Of course, some of us who fall into that camp would tell you that there were similar streaks in 2007 and 2009 – and that in 2008, we started the ACC season 4-4.

    These wins in themselves don’t prove anything. The problem w/ the Sidney Lowe era hasn’t been that in some games we don’t play great. The problem is that when you look at the totality of a season, we don’t that way enough.

    Some of us think that a large part of this problem is because that this staff doesn’t teach in a way that the team gives the maximum effort each time they hit the floor. And I think all Wolfpackers would agree w/ the statement that w/ the talent he’s had his first 4 years, we needed to be focused, prepared and intense for every ACC game.

    Really though – I’m glad we finished this way. It can give us some momentum for next year. And it is encouraging that this team and staff stuck w/ it.

    I hope the sunshiners are spot on here. I’d love it if Brown and Harrow turned us into a 11-5 team next year.

  7. Wulfpack 03/08/2010 at 12:13 PM #

    What it says is we won 5 ACC games, which is one less than what I predicted. Hurray. Hold the presses.

    I guess some of us would like to see some steady improvement from the program. It didn’t happen this year. Maybe next year. At NC State, therw is ALWAYS next year…

  8. packfan03 03/08/2010 at 12:14 PM #

    choppack1 –

    My argument is that fans should not be discouraged because we fared slightly better than was expected this year. I wouldn’t classify our team as overachievers, but I also won’t blame Lowe for poor coaching when our team played as many of us expected them to play. Earlier in the season, some posters on this site clammored for Tony Bennett because UVA was overachieving. Now, it seems that those folks have either disappeared or realized that their myopia shadowed their opinions.

    I’m only suggesting that “coaching” should not be the critical point of ones argument against Lowe. If there is anything to criticize, it’s the recruiting efforts that have not resulted in an NCAA bid after year four. Hopefully, the highly – touted recruits next year will have squashed this argument and we’ll be competing for an NCAA bid.

  9. packfan03 03/08/2010 at 12:20 PM #

    “What it says is we won 5 ACC games, which is one less than what I predicted. Hurray. Hold the presses.”

    I don’t think anyone (Lowe supporters included) are satisfied with the on court results of our team. We all want to win, and win A LOT. Only sadists are happy with our program’s status.

    What I am pleased with is the overall direction the program seems to be pointing. Acknowledging that this “direction” has only led to a five win season after four years, I can see tremendous amounts of potential for next year.

    I NEVER thought we’d be competing this year, and we didn’t. However, it’s fairly obvious that we are going to have the potential next year to exceed expectations. I’m not going to apologize for my confidence in Lowe and the recruits we have coming in. We’re getting three (maybe four…COME ON CJ!!) alpha dogs next year that won’t take losing lightly.

  10. Rochester 03/08/2010 at 12:23 PM #

    Seeing Thomas on the floor so much (at all really) yesterday, I assumed it was his last home game for the Pack. If so, I commend Sid for playing him. Of all the things Herb ever did that pissed me off, not playing Tim Wells on Senior Night was at the top of the list.

    Should we make the NIT, I hope he finds a few more minutes for JT. It’s a shame he was never healthy for us.

    As for why there aren’t more posts … how much do the rest of us want to hang out in here all day with certain schmucks gloating after a win that got us up to 5-11? Hold the “told you so’s” until we win something meaningful.

  11. WolftownVA81 03/08/2010 at 12:26 PM #

    It was a nice win. I’m glad that the seniors could go out on a positive note and that many were able to contribute. However, it doesn’t change my opinion of SL as a coach. Too much inconsitancy for me to support him at this point. I hope he goes out with class because I loved him a player and wanted him to succeed as a coach. This doesn’t look likely to happen based on the results of the last four regular seasons.

  12. ADVENTUROO 03/08/2010 at 12:35 PM #

    Well…at least there were comments…

    First, I did NOT mean to hint that Roy “has lost it”…Roy is having a difficult year and I think that, based on past experience, he SHOULD have been able to massage this group into a competitive team….but sometimes you can NOT fix what is broken during the season. UNX’s team next year will probably be a different line-up and some of the stellar recruits will pack thier jocks…because that is all they actually have that is theirs…

    My point was that Sid has to LEARN how to coach a college team. He KNOWS the X & O’s…and he has more “on court” experience than Roy. Jimmy V’s comment about him being the best point guard that he had ever coached speaks to Sid’s BB IQ. NOW…he needs to…and I admit that I am a little disappointed in his progress….learn HOW to COACH great players…especially the PG.

    This year reminds me MORE of 2007 than any year. I watched all 4 games of the ACC Tourney in Tampa from a seat where I could see the player on the floor and also the bench. WE RAN OUT OF GAS…we almost beat UNX.

    Kellie’s team did the same thing yesterday…

    This year’s team is the FIRST one that has had that spirit in the past 3 years. Sid’s personal issues impacted his second year. The team’s chemistry (when a player’s GF are sharing their beds with another player…there will be CHEMISTRY issues)….so write off those years…

    Then, we had a player that was going to be deported….courtesy of a UNX Snitch (remember the David Thompson fiasco that cost us the right to go to the NCAA tournament…the NCAA Offical played golf with Bill G from UNX when he came to town to investigate US…)

    AND…Sid had to figure out HOW to work the college REFS.

    Having said all that…WHO would YOU have put in as our Head BB Coach? LF is CERTAINLY not up to that task.

    I agree with the posters…we DO need a NEW AD….we also need to get the STUDENTS involved a little more…their sections are as sparce as the rest…so there is equal blame to go around.

    Did you watch the UNX-Dook game? Those students are CRAZY….the girl with the Cocanut Shell Blue Top Bra got me…as well as bringing in Roy’s Presbyterian Fan…

    NOW THAT IS ENTHUSIASM.

    We need to get our FAN BASE MORE ENERGIZED…

    I TRY…but I am a lone voice..

    YES…this site does get on my last NERVE…and if I did NOT love NCSU Athletics…I would NOT BE HERE making these comments….which are MY opinion

  13. Thinkpack17 03/08/2010 at 12:42 PM #

    “As for why there aren’t more posts … how much do the rest of us want to hang out in here all day with certain schmucks gloating after a win that got us up to 5-11? Hold the “told you so’s” until we win something meaningful.”

    Yes but if I can take this one step further that means when we lose certain people are more comfortable taking to the boards because there are more “negative” comments flowing? This comment may be deleted because I know Mods hate any sort of reference towards “bad fan” traits but isn’t that what Carolina’s boards are for? A place where you can talk junk about an NC State loss? I mean these boards are OURS, they are here for the home town team. So I would expect there to be more homerism here after a win, than critism (however valid) after a loss. Not the other way around.

  14. Thinkpack17 03/08/2010 at 12:47 PM #

    **I’m aware I can go to Packinsider if I want a lovefest, I’m aware this is a “pull no punches” site, and I am aware this isn’t a “monkey board”. I am just saying the trend is interesting.

  15. Wulfpack 03/08/2010 at 12:48 PM #

    Packfan, please do not put words in my mouth. Sidney Lowe is not a good on floor basketball coach. He is a much better recruiter than he is a coach. He will have to prove me wrong, and I hope that he does. But I do not think that “coaching” is one of his strengths.

  16. blackdom 03/08/2010 at 1:16 PM #

    “He is a much better recruiter than he is a coach” If this is true how much longer do we have to wait?
    We do rank 3rd in attendance but as far as % filled we are in 8th where we avg about 70% capacity . Also 15,000 was a nice crowd yesterday but how many of those were 2 for 1?

  17. packfan03 03/08/2010 at 1:23 PM #

    Wulfpack, I clearly did not put words in your mouth. I simply stated that the argument that makes the most sense is that our teams aren’t talented enough to compete with most of the ACC, and this is the HC’s fault. Coaching the only team that starts one Four star recruit (or better) in the ACC to an expected result does not demonstrate bad coaching.

    I believe Sidney will prove to be an excellent recruiter. I’m fully aware that some of you who criticize Lowe’s “on court” coaching abilities have a basketball background. But I’m also fully aware that some of you don’t, which makes your sweeping statements regarding Lowe’s coaching abilities irrelevant.

    Wulfpack, I’m not sure which category you are in. However, until he fails to meet expectations, you can’t say he’s a bad coach – only a bad talent evaluator and recruiter. I find this to be the only logical argument at this point.

    Obviously, putting a sub-standard team out next year will be the indictment you’ve been looking for.

  18. packfan03 03/08/2010 at 1:27 PM #

    Blackdom has presented a logical argument:

    “He is a much better recruiter than he is a coach” If this is true how much longer do we have to wait?

    Blackdom, next year is the breaking point. Lowe will be EXPECTED to produce by non-loyalists, loyalists, and the media. If he fails, he should be held accountable.

  19. MP 03/08/2010 at 1:30 PM #

    That sure did “sound” like a very good win for the players and particularly Dennis Horner yesterday. I can’t get over the game not being televised… in North Carolina!?! Good for the players for winning that game. I’m kind of looking forward to the tournament. After last year’s Thursday night whimper, I really hope to see some competitive (and hopefully winning) play from the team.

    Regarding the differing opinions on Sidney Lowe. It doesn’t matter anymore the percentage of how many think he’ll be okay vs. how many don’t. The bottom line is 2010-11 MUST be a tournament bid (and no that does not include the CBI/NIT varieties).

    [And in my opinion, “on the bubble entering the ACCT” is not acceptable. I had grown tired of NCAA Tourney bids that depended on winning 1 or 2 ultimately meaningless game in the ACCT. If you’re not good enough to be in the NCAAT after a full regular season, why bother?]

    Look at the Carolina Panthers situation with Jake Delhomme. Nobody liked the decision – everyone from coach/GM/players/fans/media all HATED the decision – but also acknowledged it was the CORRECT decision. Including Jake Delhomme himself!

    That is what NC State is looking at next season. I’m sincerely rooting with all I got for Sidney Lowe to achieve, but if we are not a solid NCAAT team at the end of the regular season, everyone needs to make the correct decision – including the big man himself – no matter how much it hurts.

    With that said, good luck to THIS YEAR’S team entering the ACCT and I’ll be rooting for you. Also, the 2010-11 has already got all my support. I’ve still got some hope left.

  20. patientwuf 03/08/2010 at 1:53 PM #

    MP

    Great Post.

  21. bradleyb123 03/08/2010 at 2:18 PM #

    Blackdom, next year is the breaking point. Lowe will be EXPECTED to produce by non-loyalists, loyalists, and the media. If he fails, he should be held accountable.

    Exactly right. For me, next year better be .500 or better in the ACC, and an NCAA tournament bid, at a minimum. I know this will just be Harrow and friends’ first year, but we were VERY close to those numbers this year. So adding a little more talent, and only losing Horner and Degand should put us at that level.

    I’m one of the “sunshine crew” that people talk about on here sometimes. But my support for Sidney is only because of the incoming recruits AND because I’d rather give Sidney ONE more year than take a chance on hiring another experiment that will be a setback in recruiting at BEST.

    I don’t love Sidney. I’m not arguing that he’s a great coach. I’m not happy with his four-year record here, either. But I can’t see letting our administration bring in ANOTHER coach when we might just be this close to turning the corner. My argument is let’s see it through, but only for one more year. If next year is another sad season, I will no longer support Sidney Lowe.

  22. bradleyb123 03/08/2010 at 2:20 PM #

    That sure did “sound” like a very good win for the players and particularly Dennis Horner yesterday. I can’t get over the game not being televised… in North Carolina!?!

    Am I missing something? The game was televised on Raycom (channel 5, WRAL, here in Raleigh). I still have it on my DVR because someone in my family missed it and wants to see it.

  23. choppack1 03/08/2010 at 2:29 PM #

    Agreed – great post MP.

    “My argument is that fans should not be discouraged because we fared slightly better than was expected this year. I wouldn’t classify our team as overachievers, but I also won’t blame Lowe for poor coaching when our team played as many of us expected them to play. ”

    This is horse-hockey. If you are picked to finish last and you finish 11th out of 12th – it’s crazy to be satisfied. Like I said, I imagine that many who did the voting factored in overall coaching ability.

    You’ve got an employee who shows up an hour late every day for work and does a crappy job…He starts showing up 30 minutes late – is that something to be pleased with? NO.

    The bottom line is that in this season, like 2 of the previous 3, we’ve played some good basketball in several games – but in far too many, we haven’t played up to our potential.

    But hey, I’m naive and enough of an optimist to believe that bringing Harrow and Brown will help us turn the corner. I really think that they can – and I’m hoping I can once again start watching Wolfpack basketball w/ a sense of enjoyment.

  24. tvp1 03/08/2010 at 2:53 PM #

    Nice win.

    After the season is over I will put my “the case for optimism” post somewhere up here. In short I think there were some quantifiable improvements this year that should give us reason to believe we’ll be a better team next year.

  25. bradleyb123 03/08/2010 at 3:22 PM #

    This is horse-hockey. If you are picked to finish last and you finish 11th out of 12th – it’s crazy to be satisfied. Like I said, I imagine that many who did the voting factored in overall coaching ability.

    I’m not satisfied. I don’t think any of us is satisfied. But we DID a little better than expected. The tie-breaker seeded us 11th, but we won enough games that technically, we finished tied for ninth. Eleventh is not DFL, and tied for ninth certainly isn’t DFL.

    If the question is “did we exceed expectations?” I think we all would have to say, yes. If you’re opposed to Sidney, you’ll change it to “are you satisfied?” Well, no. But that wasn’t the question.

    We won 17 games, beat a few ranked opponents, but we did this after losing almost everyone that was supposed to be any good off of last year’s team. We were picked to finished last by just about everybody, yet we won 5 ACC games with this young team, and tied for 9th. Is that a national or conference championship? No. But it’s not a bad start for this mostly new group that still doesn’t have a stellar point guard.

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