State loses to Miami (Sunday Morning Update: Headlines)

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States loses to Miami 79-78, once again, on a last-second tip-in.

State led 76-71 with 1:31 remaining but then turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and missed the front end of a one-and-one and then a jumper in the final minute, which gave Miami the chance to win on its final possession. Which they did on a tip-in off a missed jumper with a little over a second remaining.

State has now lost its four league games by a combined nine points, and finds itself facing some trouble at 5-4 (5th place), with a Thursday 9pm game at Cameron looming.

Feel free to meltdown below and/or over on the re-launched SFN Forums.

HEADLINES

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Grieving Tyler Lewis gives N.C. State some inspired play

Sitting in his Statesville home Saturday, watching his inspired son assume a leading role for short-handed N.C. State, Rick Lewis shed tears and cheered enthusiastically with the toughest man he knows.

His 82-year-old father.

Clennon Lewis was shot in the ear and leg during the Korean War, and he survived a helicopter crash in Vietnam because the aircraft landed in a body of water. He’s had two triple bypass surgeries, the first in 1975, the next 21 years later, and he hasn’t let prostate cancer or several aneurysms defeat him.

So when Clennon chatted with his grief-stricken grandson on the phone late Friday night and asked him to play Saturday, what choice did Tyler Lewis really have other than to say he would?

At about 8 p.m. on Friday, four days shy of her 84th birthday, Margie Lewis died at Iredell Memorial Hospital, where she was being treated for pneumonia. Tyler lost his grandmother, Rick his mother, Clennon his wife of 61 years.

Urged to remain in Raleigh, Tyler nearly directed the Wolfpack to a dramatic win over ACC-leading Miami. A freshman reserve who had totaled 38 minutes in the first eight league games, he posted 16 points and five assists with only one turnover in 36 minutes of a 79-78 loss.

Tyler played most of his high school career at Forsyth Country Day, but another Winston-Salem product, Miami’s Reggie Johnson, stole the spotlight by scoring on a go-ahead tip-in with 0.8 seconds left.

“I knew what I had to do out there,” Tyler said. “I had to prove (myself) to all the people that hadn’t seen me play this year. After this, I think I proved a lot of people wrong.”

That’s exactly what Clennon expected from his grandson.

Omega Wolf (BackingthePack.com)
Second Half Swoon

If there is a silver lining in N. C. State’s last-second, tip-in loss to Miami, the Pack’s second such loss on the season, it is the emergence of Tyler Lewis, who had 16 points to go along with a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio while spelling the injured Lorenzo Brown. In seven of N. C. State’s nine ACC games the Pack’s opponent has scored at least 56.9% of its points in the second half; this fact strongly suggests that the Pack’s thin bench is causing a gassed squad to give up an abnormally high total of second-half points, thus also losing leads late in games. Lewis’s contribution against Miami may give Mark Gottfried enough faith in the freshman point guard to give him significant minutes even after Brown’s return, boosting the thin rotation and perhaps helping the Pack stave off the second half swoon.

The most egregious example of State’s collapsing trend is the game against Wake Forest; Wake put up 51 points against the Pack after intermission. The half is the Deacons’ highest scoring 20-minute session of the season and accounted for 59.3% of their scoring for the game. Wake’s second-half surge allowed it to erase a 12-point halftime deficit and win by two.

The Hurricanes put up 45 second-half points to erase a six-point halftime deficit and win by one. Miami scored 57% of its points in the second half, and Miami’s after-intermission output was its sixth best scoring half of the season overall and second best in 16 halves of ACC play.

Caulton Tudor (N&O)
Wolfpack could emerge a better team

The best ACC basketball game of the season to this point ended Saturday in the PNC Arena with N.C. State losing a battle, but possibly winning a war.

Thanks to a game-winning, follow tip-in by Reggie Johnson in the final second, Miami (17-3, 8-0 ACC) left with a 79-78 win over the Wolfpack (16-6, 5-4).

But with Wolfpack point guard Lorenzo Brown sidelined by an injury, freshman Tyler Lewis came through with a performance that looked a lot more like Bobby Hurley than the seldom-used reserve N.C. State fans had seen in previous games.

“We’re a better team after tonight,” said fellow freshman Rodney Purvis, whose 70-foot desperation shot at the final horn almost changed the outcome.

“The way Tyler played in this game, we have to feel so great about our chances. He was amazing.”

Lewis, lightly recruited and lowly regarded by almost everyone except Wolfpack assistant coach Bob Lutz, finished with 16 points, five assists, only one turnover and two rebounds in 36 minutes.

Immediately after the game, Lewis left to join his family in mourning for his grandmother, Margie Lewis, who died Friday in Statesville.

Joe Giglio (N&O)
Three Points: Effort, endgame solutions and Tyler Lewis

1) What it takes

N.C. State played with a palpable intensity and desperation on Saturday in a game, arguably for the first time all season, it wasn’t supposed to win. These two points are obviously connected.

N.C. State should be, as coach Mark Gottfried put it, heartbroken after Reggie Johnson’s tip-in with 0.8 seconds left gave Miami a 79-78 win but the Wolfpack should not be discouraged.

John Wooden espoused prioritizing the process over the results and this was that type of game for N.C. State. The result doesn’t diminish the effort. Sometimes you lose because the other team makes the last play and sometimes you lose but you learn about the effort and passion it takes to win.

There’s the potential for the latter for N.C. State from Saturday’s loss. To put it another way, if N.C. State had played with that intensity and purpose against Maryland or Wake Forest, it would be sitting at 7-2 in the ACC standings today, instead of 5-4.

The good part about learning such lessons is the earlier in the season you do, the better off you are. This game, an instant classic, felt like March and was played at high level. N.C. State was not capable of playing a game like this in November (see: Michigan). That’s the first step, now it must take another step and prove it can win a game like this.

The lesson comes too late to help N.C. State win this ACC regular-season title, but it could potentially serve the Wolfpack well in Greensboro and beyond.

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Final possession becomes a recurring Groundhog Day nightmare for N.C. State

It’s ironically fitting that the game was played on Groundhog Day, because just like Bill Murray in the movie of the same name N.C. State’s basketball misfortune became a recurring a recurring nightmare Saturday.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago at Maryland, Alex Len took advantage of a long rebound and the lack of a box out to tip in the basket that beat the Wolfpack with less than a second left.

This time the culprit was Miami’s Reggie Johnson.

In a play so similar that only Punxsutawney Phil could truly appreciate it, Johnson tipped in a Shane Larkin miss with 0.8 seconds remaining to give the Hurricanes a 79-78 victory at PNC Arena.

The dramatic – and familiar – finish spoiled an inspired effort by backup point guard Tyler Lewis while dropping preseason ACC favorite State four full games behind unbeaten Miami in the league standings.

The Wolfpack has now lost four ACC games, to Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia and now Miami, by a combined total of seven points.

“But this one,” freshman guard Rodney Purvis said, “seemed to hurt more.

“Don’t get me wrong, every game is equal. But I hate to lose at home in front of our fans. This would have been a huge win. It would have made a mark for us, not having (injured point guard Lorenzo Brown) in.”

Andrew Jones (FoxSportsCarolinas.com)
Miami’s comeback gives fans a classic

Either team could have won, and quite frankly, this was a rare case in which both squads deserved to win. But the older, wiser club prevailed.

“Experience is a word we hear a lot — a lot of people comment on our age. But it’s been very valuable for us,” Miami forward Julian Gamble said. “Me being a sixth-year senior and being in the ACC for as long as I have and going through the things I’ve gone through, and with D. Scott being here for four years and having the amount of experience, he has really helped us.

“It helped us stay poised and helped us stay calm.”

The ebb and flow of the game included a series of adjustments made by both coaching staffs. Initially, Miami’s maturity, which includes four senior starters and a senior as the first man off the bench, knocked State back a bit. But once Lewis entered the game and gained confidence after making a few plays, the rest of the Pack caught his contagious vibe and picked up their play.

WRALSportsfan.com
Purvis: This one seemed to hurt more

NC State guard Rodney Purvis said that after their fourth ACC loss by three points or less, the one to Miami hurt more because it was at home.

WRALSportsfan.com
Lewis: I had to take advantage of the opportunity

NC State guard Tyler Lewis scored 16 points in a loss to Miami Saturday and afterwards said he was just trying to take advantage of an opportunity.

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118 Responses to State loses to Miami (Sunday Morning Update: Headlines)

  1. Gowolves 02/03/2013 at 10:32 AM #

    I feel ok about this setback. Don’t love it but a lot of good came out of this loss. Lewis gained some much needed confidence. I liked the way the offense performed with him running the point. He looks for the pass first and I think that changes the flow of the game. Not taking anything from Brown he is a great player but he doesn’t always play with ball control and pass first. My opinion is to get everyone else going first then your shot opens up. Brown still has the shooting guard mentality at times. When you have so many players that can score maybe it’s better to have one less who can distribute. JMHO.

    The losses to MD, Wake and VA upset me more, especially Wake. These are games that they should have won. At least two of those.

    I’m not ready to call this season a failure. What I do want to see is if they can continue to play with passion and effort. We may not go as far as last year but last year was different like every year is. They are being targeted this year which requires a different attitude. I don’t think this something that can change overnight. It requires a different approach. I think that’s why Lewis was so successful yesterday. His attitude to be aggressive and play with nothing to lose. This team I feel plays tentative at times under Brown. Especially late in games.

  2. ncst8zr1 02/03/2013 at 10:40 AM #

    I was at the game and did not see Johnson’s two-hand shove to the back of Howell (I think), but when I later watched the DVR’d game, it was obvious and should have been called. Without the shove, maybe Johnson tips it in, anyway, but the foul should have been called. We should not have been in this situation–too many mistakes in the last few minutes. Leslie’s free throw shooting was OK for the game, and it was “time” for him to miss. Without that stupid foul, however, even if Miami had tied the game or gone ahead by one on that possession without the foul, we would likely have had the last possession (less than 35 on the shock clock).
    I slow-motioned Purvis’s desperation shot at the end. The ball hit the back of the rim, the front of the rim, and then bounced away. Two inches or so less distance on the shot would have probably been good, even with a ricochet off the back and front.
    Purvis’s dunk is number two on Sport Center’s top plays, and he comments on it in today’s N&O. Essentially, he says he saw the shot being taken by his teammate and took a chance (read:anticipated) on its off-rim trajectory, if missed. The rest is history.

  3. Wulfpack 02/03/2013 at 10:47 AM #

    “We are better than Miami, no question.”

    I would say slow down there. There most certainly is a question as Miami is 8-0 and we are 5-4. There are reasons for that. Now are we as, or likely even more, talented than Miami? Most certainly. But they are paying much better as a team than we are right now.

    We should have won yesterday, most of us agree. But you cannot discount the Wake, Maryland, and UVA losses as if they just never happened. The pattern is we have a difficult time holding leads, and if the game is up for grabs in the final moments, we will lose. Let’s buck that trend.

  4. TheCOWDOG 02/03/2013 at 10:55 AM #

    Rule #1.

    You don’t put a body on your guy 2 feet from the rim .

    Leave it to Pack fans to bring a zebra into the equation.

  5. TMD11 02/03/2013 at 10:58 AM #

    Many aren’t happy about this game – I am one of them. Good teams find a way to win close games, but we aren’t which is troubling everyone. Gottfried is a great coach and we are lucky to have him. Tyler Lewis DOES have plenty of game and is a tremendous floor general as everyone saw – with Lorenzo our team is difficult to press. But in order to win this team HAS to grow together a full step. Get focused. Championship teams do the little things, and FIND a way to win. We just need to do that…..

  6. TLeo 02/03/2013 at 10:59 AM #

    There comes a point in the season where the excuses need to stop. This team continues to make boneheaded plays/fouls/turnovers and I agree the late game coaching also leaves something to be desired as well. Not ready to give up on this season but we can’t keep saying “it’s only one game” and it doesn’t matter if it’s by one point or 100, a loss is still a loss. These “one games” are adding up and are going to cost us big time. This upcoming stretch of away games is not looking good the way we tend to play on the road and may determine the outcome of the regular season.
    This team is going to finish in the middle of the conference or worse and in for an early ACC exit and early (if they make it) NCAA if they don’t take care of business in these coming games.

  7. choppack1 02/03/2013 at 11:18 AM #

    A couple of thoughts – and they aren’t positive ones:
    1) We will continue to lose more than our share of close games if we don’t do the little things like box out, take care of the basketball and make the front-end of one and one’s.

    I said earlier that I don’t think Gott demands that his star players do these little things, and yesterday’s game does nothing to change it.

    2) Lewis’ performance yesterday doesn’t give me much confidence in how Gott handles his bench. I really hope that Lewis isn’t auditioning for a transfer because his playing time up until this game has been minimal (in spite of Brown often playing horrid D in the first half of some games – see point 1).

    Yesterday’s game can be a springboard and shows that Lewis can play in this league. We’ll see if he’s allowed to once Lorenzo Brown returns.

  8. Wulfpack 02/03/2013 at 11:40 AM #

    “Yesterday’s game can be a springboard and shows that Lewis can play in this league. ”

    And he can play very well. At times, he was the most efficient player on the floor. The way he zips the ball around and is able to beat his guy off he dribble gave our offense the spark it needed. I have no problem with him and Zo on the floor at the same time. Seems like a great idea actually.

    If he doesn’t see significant minutes following that performance, I will have serious questions about Gott’s management there. He earned it. He showed he cannot only be a good player, but a GREAT player. Give him the minutes and develop the guy for the future.

    Gott has given this team a lot of room. He seems to shrug off the losses. That may have been fine to start the season as there were giant expectations, fairly or not. But it is time to get serious with them – same mistakes over and over again. Another loss or two (within the next few games) and we do in fact enter bubble land. No ACC team with a .500 or worse record will be getting an invite, you can bank on that.

  9. ADVENTUROO 02/03/2013 at 12:00 PM #

    Maybe folks have a better photographic memory than I have. I had to go back to GoPack.com and pull up the results and look at the Play-by-Play to put it into perspective.

    Personally, and this is from an armchair coach, the Miami game is probably the most heart breaking, in that we SHOULD have won it. If you look at the last few minutes of the games we lost and rank them by Momentum and Being in a Position to Win (MHO’s), then Miami was a 9; MD was a 6; UVA & WF 4

    If you also had to choose an MVP for the last 1:34 of the Miami game, then I would break it down as follows:

    Purvis – TO & 1 PF – Miami got 2 Pts
    Warren (subed for Purvis) – TO which let to Miami 2 Pts
    Lewis – Hit 2 FT’s but missed critical shot at 0:16 – NCSU – 2 Pts
    Leslie – 2 PF – first Miami missed but got 2 Pts off Reb and got 1 Pt of second. Also missed FT
    Wood – Running around and getting pushed – looks tired – not able to get free for shot or get ball to be fouled
    Howell – No critical Rebs – Both Leslie and Howell were in when Johnson tipped in winning basket

    And WHO would you pick for the MVP. I decided NOT to award it as no one was left standing when I reviewed their play and asked them to sit down.

    But, having said that and also read a lot of opinions, I still think that we will be stronger. If we can get 20 – 25 minutes from Lewis and Vandy, then those minutes will be spread over our main 4. Purvis and Warren will still play their 25 or so. Therefore, in theory, each of the 4 will get 6 more minutes of “rest”, and their PT will be in the low 30’s.

    The OTHER factor might be that Tyler can spell Zo and let Zo become a shooting guard and rack up some points. Warren does not seem comfortable there.

    OK….that would be scenario…..

    On to Duke. I think we need to do unto Duke as Reddick did unto us for some many games…..Wood – are your READY?

    The next thing would be to come up with a Junk Defense. Every possession that Curry has for Duke should have a random (we know….he doesn’t) player guarding him. Mix it up between Purvis, Zo, Wood, Lewis, and MAYBE Leslie….but we need our two “trees” to get rebounds because of PlumTree.

    Others, way more knowledgeable, will have different thoughts….

    I am STILL not on the ledge….but having reflected on it, we gave away Miami at home and that Hurt, still Hurts and will continue to Hurt.

  10. ADVENTUROO 02/03/2013 at 12:14 PM #

    Sorry for two posts….but wanted to keep the thoughts separate….

    Some folks have posted about Warren. Some have made comments about his displeasure and hinting at transfer.

    I could make the same comment about Purvis’ role next year, assuming that Zo is getting paid big bucks to practice and get a little PT in the NBA with Tyler coming on and our transfer.

    If someone with some REAL knowledge and REAL exposure to the inner psychology (Gottfried does not like the term “chemistry”) could contribute, then I would appreciate reading it.

    However, those of us as far removed from the inner sanctum as I am from President Obama’s “cabinet” do NOT need to speculate or start rumors or fan the flames.

    Whatever happened seems to be history. I can understand each one of our guys wanting to bear their own personal cross for yesterday’s outcome.

    They need to learn from it and not repeat (or maybe not DO) the same things again in a critical situation.

    The comments that folks made about a critical basket, a critical defensive assignment botched, a frivilious foul, etc. are spot on (IMHO). Gottfried and staff need to notch up their attention to detail just a smidge so that when we have a lead, we maintain it and if the lead gets “whittled” down, that old MO is wearing Red and White.

    Just my $0.02 worth….

  11. bill.onthebeach 02/03/2013 at 12:22 PM #

    Mr. Dog… I agree with your analysis 100%….

    1. GOTT and staff coached a great , not perfect, game over the three days leading up and including the game itself….

    2. We will see more and more of the 2/3 zone ….

    3. Woo has to take shots.. his shooting percentage is irrelevant…

    ….we need 11-12 points from Scott every game…. as in a minimum of 2 three pointers in the first half… 1 three pointer in the second half and 3-4 free throws the last two minutes

    …. that’s all it takes to stay in the other team’s head and keep the middle open for Richard, CALVIN , WBS ( now that we have seen him drive successfully among the trees) and others.

    Otherwise… we are one-dimensional and if we can’t run… we will struggle to win any game against anybody left on the schedule…..

    ——————–

    Now… a prediction… by tournament time… our starting lineup will be WBS, Brown, Richard, CALVIN and pick one Wood, Purvis or Cuz.

    What do think about that?

  12. GAWolf 02/03/2013 at 12:51 PM #

    Wood still suffers greatly from not being able to create his own space. That’s with and without the ball. Part of it is he’s being held like hell, but he needs to run more and make them hold them enough to maybe finally get called for it.

  13. MrPlywood 02/03/2013 at 2:15 PM #

    I did see Woo use a pump fake and dribble in to take a mid-range J. He missed, but he needs to make that move more often and give the D reason to back off him a bit. It’s kind of old-man ball (I use it a lot – ha) but it works. The D has to have a reason to worry about what you might do, if they know it’s going to be a 3, they’ll just play for that.

    State also ran a nice play for him out of a TO, another midrange J, which he made.

    I agree about the holding – heck, I’m OK if he embellishes with a flop here and there if it will get him some attention, nothing else seems to get the eye of the refs.

  14. eas 02/03/2013 at 3:22 PM #

    Heck I think Brown, WBS, Purvis, Howell and Warren is the best line up. Or add Calvin I guess with WBS getting a good rotation between Brown and Purvis. I just don’t see Wood as a starter and even Calvin becomes an issue at times. Let Wood play the last 4 minutes of the game or in small spurts. His 3 is the only benefit he brings.

  15. DrWuffette1day 02/03/2013 at 3:47 PM #

    We are two years into a culture change. Lowe decimated this program. I remember days when CJ wouldn’t bother running up the court and Brown couldn’t catch the ball without a micromanaging coach whistling at him and then the coach would flail his arms in the direction Brown was to go. They didn’t care literally if they won or loss.

    We play to the level of competition. We don’t play like champions. Maybe we are not quite there yet. However these freakin’ refs are making want to drive down to the ACC offices every week and paintball their office red. (BTW, please don’t do this…I’ll be blamed.)

    Mr. Bill, that would be interesting.

    Gott did a great last year getting the team to peak at the right time. I’m hoping that he works his magic again.

    I’m loving some WBS. However, it puzzles me how he can do so amazing yesterday and then get so man-handled by UNC-G and UNC-A guards. I dunno. As others have said….learning curve. As impressed as I was with his play, I was more impressed with his interview. That kid is a competitor. He’s a leader.

  16. TLeo 02/03/2013 at 5:11 PM #

    Lewis is going to be a great pt guard before he is finished here. I want to see him get a lot more playing time the rest of the season.

  17. JeremyH 02/04/2013 at 12:34 AM #

    Lewis is our Flacco. Part of my excitement for this season was that we had three McDonald’s All-Americans, not two. Welcome to the show, Tyler.

  18. RednWhite4life 02/04/2013 at 11:47 AM #

    When will Scott Wood show up to a game again? I miss him.

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