State beats Clemson

It was plenty ugly, especially the first half when State executed poorly and played uninspired. But the Pack ended a three-game losing streak (and five-of-seven skid) on Scott Wood’s three-point game-winner with one second remaining. Richard Howell was again a beast with another double-double (16/11) and although it won’t show up in the box score, his screen set up Wood’s game winner.

State improves to 6-5 (5th place) in the league and has kept itself off the bubble and still in position to avoid Thursday in Greensboro.

Box Score (ESPN)

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12-13 Basketball

98 Responses to State beats Clemson

  1. Wulfpack 02/10/2013 at 3:00 PM #

    You do what you can to win these close games in league play, and we did that today. Was not at all pretty, but a win is a win. I will take it. Hopefully Gott rides them hard after this one. Could have easily gone the other way.

  2. wufpup76 02/10/2013 at 3:06 PM #

    Unsung ‘key’ to the game – the adjustment made against Roper when he was eviscerating us. We switched Brown to him and also started hedging to help get the ball out of his hands.

    Clemson really bogged down after that, until they unleashed Hall on Lewis … Speaking of –

    Another key move was to put Purvis in on defense and switch Brown to Hall when it became clear that they were going to clear out and let Hall take Lewis each time down the court.

    Ugly, but the staff and guys did give themselves a chance to win. And finally we did.

    Huge. Huge. Huge win … Road win. Thank God … Did we ever need that.

    Edit: Big credit to Howell and Leslie both for their interior defense. Booker was effectively neutralized, Jennings wasn’t much of a factor – leaving Clemson to depend on McDaniels and Roper. Once we keyed on Roper we gave ourselves a chance to win.

  3. Wufpacker 02/10/2013 at 3:09 PM #

    I’ll echo ‘foose from the other thread:

    “It’s a win.”

    And it definitely beats last year’s result down there.

  4. MrPlywood 02/10/2013 at 3:17 PM #

    I can’t find the “pretty” column in the box score.

  5. freshmanin83 02/10/2013 at 3:17 PM #

    Is that the definition of a squeaker?

  6. Wufpacker 02/10/2013 at 3:25 PM #

    Agreed Plywood.

    Playing like crap and winning definitely beats playing like crap and losing.

  7. Khan 02/10/2013 at 3:27 PM #

    Although Leslie did his best to screw it away again, we finally showed some composure at the end of the game and Wood hit a big shot. We have really needed to prove to ourselves we can win a game in this fashion. Now that we have, I hope this will be a catalyst for the guys. And I hope CJ can improve his basketball IQ somewhat.

  8. packalum44 02/10/2013 at 3:35 PM #

    Is it just me or do we not match up well with anybody? Other than teams that like to run but are less talented offensively (e.g., UNC). Other than that, any average BCS team has a chance to beat us.

    Keep in mind these are not Gott’s kids. This team is kind of a ragtag odd-fitting bunch. Lowe was not the one for recruiting pieces to a team with the idea of creating synergy mind you. Or really one to do anything that made much sense.

    As he’s a championship winning alumnus, not many folks will call a spade a spade. He’s dumb as dirt. At least in a relative sense to people in a profession who get paid 7 digits.

  9. Wulfpack 02/10/2013 at 3:39 PM #

    We clearly do not match up well against UVA, Clemson and Maryland. The Miami game was a thing of beauty – both teams going up a and down the floor exhibiting their athleticism. That gives me hope. But we do play down to the level of our competition and it would be nice to see that start to change. Hey, it is a win on the road. Gott drew up a great play that was well executed, and Wood nailed it. That has got to give the team (and coaches) some much needed confidence in close games to come.

  10. doug 02/10/2013 at 3:50 PM #

    We won. We got Brown back. We now can play seven deep sometimes 8. We are better now than when we beat duke.

  11. ADVENTUROO 02/10/2013 at 4:00 PM #

    The VICTORY was suprising…..Remember the Bud Lite commercial….about if it works, it AIN’T weird.

    The Light Blue Shirt and Tie Index was around 8 today. Mark, Orlando, Jeff and others were the prime examples, but Mark got a DOUBLE on his shirt and tie.

    So, the LBSTI was indicating a 10 pt Clemson Victory. The team grabbed Clemson’s victory from the clutches of the dark hole of the LBSTI. I hve kiddingly kept menta stats over two years and this is probably one of the MOST accurate indicators of your performance. I quipped that to Elizabeth Gottfried in Columbus last spring after our first victory in the NCAAT in god knows how long and she just sort of stare at me…doubt she remembers it.

    As to the reality on the floor. Purvis and Warren were virtually non-existent today. They seem to be bouncing around like a ping pong ball in the nuclear fission experiment (mouse traps and balls).

    TL had an outstanding game. He committed his SECOND Turn Over since Brown went down. That is 2 turnovers in 78 minutes or about one TO every 39 minutes. There is not an ACC PG near that. THIS will NOT last….but it is awesome.

    In the same 78 minutes, he has scored 25 points and has 18 assists….so his Assist:TOratio is 9:1.

    As a matter of interest, his TOTAL season TO are 15 in 295 minutes or about one every 20 minutes. That is slightly better than the light blue Strickland….

    Calvin DID play some Hero Ball today. But, in the last possession when he was in the lane, there was no help….probably should NOT have gotten in that situation, but his efforts and Howell’s (the beast with a beard) and Brown’s and Wood’s and Lewis got us through.

    GO PACK…..take off the week. Brown get HEALED. Crucify VT on Saturday…..

    Gutsy call by Gottfried to get Wood free and let him go for the rim. I guess plan B was for Howell and Leslie to do a Lorenzo Charles imitation if it clanked or was short…

    That shot was perfect…..it only swished or moved the bottom of the net….it never touchd the top half of the net…..WOW….

  12. JeremyH 02/10/2013 at 4:09 PM #

    A road win in the ACC is huge, nice finish. Now six days of rest for Zo’s ankle.

    Lewis became AJ today. Now we need Warren and Purvis to be Painter and Williams.

    I’m glad we pounded it inside, but we can’t let aggressive interior D throw us off. Great job Wood sticking with it. And coach answered some critics with the final play.

    Many more games to go.

  13. tjfoose1 02/10/2013 at 4:16 PM #

    Lowe is not “dumb as dirt”. A statement like that just puts into question the intelligence or understanding of its author.

    Quite the contrary, Lowe has a very high basketball IQ. What he is not is a manager of people or a teacher.

    Fonzie wasn’t dumb when it came to auto repair, he just couldn’t teach it in shop class.

  14. doug 02/10/2013 at 4:19 PM #

    Go Pack

  15. TLeo 02/10/2013 at 4:24 PM #

    A win is a win but geez, it was UGLY. We shot 38% and CU 39% for the game and were out rebounded overall. That is not going to win many games but at least they drew up a play and executed it when it was most needed.

  16. BJD95 02/10/2013 at 4:24 PM #

    I am proud of the team (yes, even Leslie) for continuing to fight through frustrating circumstances. I am super proud of Zo for his heart and steady leadership. I am extremely impressed with how MG managed the game. Maybe his best “in-game coaching” performance to date.

    Winning a game we should have lost (as opposed to the converse) might be exactly what the team’s psyche needed. Time will tell.

  17. TheCOWDOG 02/10/2013 at 4:38 PM #

    Hey. We we not out rebounded. And that was key to the comeback.

    Haven’t seen the splits, but I think there was a decent 2nd half margin.

    Coupled with sub 13 TOs, too much ignorant bitching.

    Here’s an intellegent bitch…start using the square on the glass. It’s there for a reason.

    Oh…and put Warren in the doghouse til he figures out weekside help.

  18. highstick 02/10/2013 at 4:41 PM #

    Whew! and it’s over…that’s all I’m gonna say..

  19. eas 02/10/2013 at 4:45 PM #

    One big difference in virtually every loss we have is the fact we have forgotten how to RUN! Our strong suit and yet we are 1/2 court basketball. Where we are at our strongest are on defensive rebounds and just taking off down the court (run and gun). I know Lewis is slower than Zo but he can run a fast paced offense just fine.

    We are basically grabbing a rebound and stopping at 1/2 court to set up an offense. That is fine but we play best off the fast break. Add the fact that Calvin thinks he is the PG most of the time. As for Calvin….if he could recognize and kick it out when he is double/triple teamed he would be soooooo much better. He does play hard but he can drive you up the wall at the same time.

    Regardless a Win is still a Win!!!! Good to pick one up on the road. Thank you Gott for seeing the Benefit Lewis and Brown together provide.

  20. TOBtime 02/10/2013 at 4:48 PM #

    Thank heavens one of these last second games went our way.

    2 turnovers in 78 minutes huh? Yeah, this kid CAN play. The offensive options that open up when Zo comes back are very, very interesting.

  21. LRM 02/10/2013 at 4:53 PM #

    We definitely needed to finally win an ugly game after Maryland, Wake and Virginia.

    We have a week off now, too. Which will give Zo time to get back into playing shape after a couple weeks nursing that ankle.

  22. theghost 02/10/2013 at 4:57 PM #

    Packalum – geez, what more do you want from Lowe? He tried, he lost, and he was fired. You can be sure he left frustrated, disappointed, and at least a little embarrassed. And he’s gone. What else is it you want from him? Get run out of his current job and end up on the welfare line? Dress up as a clown and be forced to drive around in a tiny car at halftime? What possible point can there be in continuing to kick him in the gut?

    There’s a reason you don’t treat a championship winning alum like that – because there’s no point in it, and it reflects poorly on the university when you do. Show some class, man. Act like a Pack alum. Or quit calling yourself one.

  23. TLeo 02/10/2013 at 4:58 PM #

    CowDog, I had the last few seconds plus some of the postgame on the radio and they gave the total rebounding edge to CU but with us leading the offfensive rebounds. Maybe they could have changed that since.

  24. GoState91 02/10/2013 at 5:08 PM #

    It’s about time we won a close game. It was ugly but man did we really need this one. Way to go Scott. Great feeling when you steal one on the road. Hopefully this game will get us going to finish the season strong.

  25. TheCOWDOG 02/10/2013 at 5:08 PM #

    Absolutely needed to win a close one…as already pointed out.

    Another close/ugly game loss does not a team make. The toilet flush was next. You could’ve banked it.

    What the hell do I know…never been there. But…I guess you could say I’ve had a hand or two, assisting the flush of other teams. It’s palpable, man.

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