Pack handles the Phoenix in Reynolds, 82-67

11-12 Basketball13

NC State advances to 5-1 by dominating Elon tonight.

The Wolfpack had one of their poorer shooting performances of the year from two point range, but made up for it with 45.5% (5 of 11) from the three point line.

N&O Link.

This one wasn’t close or dramatic, but N.C. State fans will take it.

An 82-67 victory over Elon on Friday night in front of a near sellout crowd at Reynolds Coliseum was fueled by a balanced scoring attack and solid defense from the Wolfpack.

Lorenzo Brown, who came into the game averaging 12 points, led N.C. State with a career-high 21 points. Although Brown did his job in leading the offense with crisp passes, he was dominant at times by getting to the hoop and scoring from the outside.

Link to boxscore.

Link to PackInsider’s game recap.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

11-12 Basketball

13 Responses to Pack handles the Phoenix in Reynolds, 82-67

  1. timberwolf 11/26/2011 at 12:02 AM #

    The way it should be was played. No searching for silver linings, no head games. No chopping wood. No UNCG style loss laid at 19 yr olds feet.

    And Elon is very good.

    Hum. I’m ready.

  2. James 11/26/2011 at 12:08 AM #

    A very nice win over a solid team. Here are some thoughts from someone who was there:

    * Brown looks like a different player than he was last year. He really dominated the game from the point guard position. He was able to get in the lane with ease and pushed the ball up the court in transition. His floaters were falling consistently. He played an outstanding game.

    * Wood was effective from the three point line. I think he hit all five of our three point shots. We need another player to step up and prove they can be a consistent threat from the outside.

    * Calvin made some great plays. He got a little too fancy on one breakaway and missed a dunk. Gottfried pulled him out at the next whistle, which was understandable. It didn’t look like he yelled at Calvin.

    * We need to do a better job at the free throw line.

    * The lines at the concession stands were way too long.

  3. grizzlyman 11/26/2011 at 12:17 AM #

    Agree with James. There should have been more than just one guy slinging wieners on $1 hotdog night. Otherwise it was a great night in Reynolds. Also, they team keeps trying to make alley-oop and above the rim plays that just aren’t there or they miss entirely. I wish they would just score the ball and not try to showboat.

  4. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 11/26/2011 at 12:24 AM #

    ^I think a lot of those missed opportunities will be baskets in the near future. The more this team plays together and gels, the easier those will be. Some of those should have been easy baskets but they just weren’t on the same page.

  5. Tau837 11/26/2011 at 1:15 AM #

    Thoughts:

    1. The margin should have been 25, not 15. Lots of missed easy shots, including multiple dunks and layups. Not complaining, just saying the score is actually a bit misleading.

    2. Brown had his way tonight, but he will not likely dominate any ACC PGs the way he dominated Elon’s. That said, his jumper and runners looked good tonight. Good to see that he can score the ball when needed.

    3. 5/11 three point shooting sounds great, but Wood was 5/6. As was already pointed out, we could use another three point threat. Was hoping TDT would provide that, but not tonight.

    4. That said, I liked what I saw in TDT’s first real playing time. He is going to contribute.

    5. I expected to dominate more inside. Offensive rebounding was good, but there wasn’t as much inside offense as I expected. Only 34 combined points from the frontcourt players (Painter, Howell, Leslie, TDT, Harris). Hope this won’t be an issue in ACC play.

    6. Surprised Vandenburg didn’t play. Is there a reason (e.g., injury, suspension) other than matchup or TDT getting minutes?

  6. PackerInRussia 11/26/2011 at 2:14 AM #

    I’d love to see a game in Reynolds (my freshman year was first year in ESA). Obviously I don’t live close enough to go to one live. I wish they’d televise a game (ESPN3 only counts if you can watch it). I know they have to only have “lesser” opponents there, so that pretty much assumes no TV. Would be nice though.
    Glad they won with ease.
    Sorry about the hot dog line. $1 hot dogs at a major sporting event is unheard of.

  7. wufpup76 11/26/2011 at 3:48 AM #

    The hotdog lines were crazy.

    Loved Brown’s aggressiveness and decision-making for the most part. Haven’t seen point guard play like that since – well since Corchiani – with the drives and floaters and decision making. (I know we’ve had other solid point guards, but Brown was at a different level tonight).

    The game was run the way it’s supposed to be run. I don’t really have any complaints other than maybe free throw shooting and a few defensive lapses. Speaking of defense though, there were stretches where we absolutely dominated Elon. A welcome sight.

    The radio guys praised C.J. Williams and rightfully so – great overall performance especially on the defensive end.

    Elon tried to jumpstart a few runs, but you never felt the lead was in any real danger.

    Good game to be at. Thankful for the solid performance.

    Go Pack! (Let’s beat that Terp a**)

  8. James 11/26/2011 at 8:55 AM #

    Wufpup76, I agree with you re: Brown. It was some of the best point guard play I’ve seen from a State player in 20 years.

    It was the first game I’ve been to in Reynolds since our last season there. It made me miss the on-campus element. I graduated in 2007 and campus has changed since then. The building that housed the bookstore has been demolished. The bookstore is now in Harrelson Hall. My wife and I also enjoyed being able to walk to Hillsborough for food after.

  9. btownwolfpack 11/26/2011 at 9:15 AM #

    Best way to get ESPN3-buy an XBox 360 and get an xbox live account. don’t know what an xbox is going for right now ($200?), but xbox live is only 60 bucks a year. Watched the game in HD last night. Awesome. I’m in Indiana but know it is working for a friend in NC.

  10. wufpup76 11/26/2011 at 11:19 AM #

    The bookstore is in Harrelson now?

    And like btown, I’m fortunate enough to get a good signal for espn3 through the xbox360. It’s really clear, and you can’t really tell it’s a streaming video (knock on wood). Still have to have an ‘espn3’ internet provider though.

  11. STLPack01 11/26/2011 at 11:54 AM #

    Some key tests coming up with Indiana, Stanford, and Syracuse. If we can go at least 2-3 against that line-up, I’ll start thinking we’ve really got something here. Really excited so far though. This team is much improved in all aspects.

    Even though I was pissed at Calvin for trying that under-the-arm-self-alley-oop, let’s be honest, it was only because he missed it. If he would have made that dunk, the place would have went bonkers. He did just throw down an incredible 180 reverse, so I think he was just ramping up his repertoire. That guy is so explosive when he jumps, it’s like he’s being shot out of a cannon.

    As far as ESPN3, what’s all the complaining? I watch it right on my laptop, no problemo, HD quality.

    Go PACK!

  12. PoppaJohn 11/26/2011 at 1:14 PM #

    Okay, Calvin was stupid to try the highlight reel dunk with a player on him, but when was the last time we had a guy who could do that? Even in practice?
    Calvin is playing much, much better. He’s till not ready for the NBA, and won’t be this year. (however, that never stopped a Pack player from going pro before)

    I was completely satisfied with the game, other than the free throw shooting. That’s a ‘coaching thing’, and I expect this new staff to take care of the ‘coaching things.’ Anybody can shoot 60%.

  13. JSRy2k 11/26/2011 at 3:43 PM #

    Calvin especially needs to work on his free throws. He gets there more than anyone else and is leaving a lot of points out there.

    It’s amazing how much faster and decisive we are on offense. Some of that has to do with coaching, and a lot has to do w/ Zo.

Leave a Reply