N.C. State (21-8, 10-6) continued its push for a top-four finish in the ACC with a key 70-57 road win against Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta Sunday evening.
Senior forward Richard Howell- who hails from nearby Marietta, Ga. – was sensational in the first half, scoring all 18 of his points to pace the Wolfpack. Howell also set a school record in the first half with his 370th career offensive rebound, passing forward Kevin Thompson (1990-93).
“I thought Richard was great,” N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “You run out of adjectives for that guy. He plays so hard. He did everything he always does.”
“I think Richard Howell is a great player,” Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory said. “He plays hard all the time and he is tremendous on the glass.”
N.C. State got off to a sizzling start in the second half. The Pack burst out to 28-14 lead in the first 13 minutes of action. However, the Yellow Jackets methodically crept back into the game, closing the half 19-8 run to cut the Wolfpack lead to 36-33 at intermission.
“You (N.C. State) are on the road, they are going to respond,” Gottfried said. “So, I did not have any illusions of grandeur that is just going to be a blowout on the road.”
“Credit to N.C. State,” Gregory said. “They played better than us and during a 40 minute stretch proved to be a team that we had a hard time beating.”
“We played against a good team,” Gregory added. “They are a NCAA Tournament team that made a good run last year.”
The Pack was also buoyed by a stellar defensive effort throughout the contest. Junior forward C.J. Leslie tied a career high with four steals and N.C. State as a team created 15 turnovers with 12 steals and held Georgia Tech to 34.4 percent shooting (22-64) from the floor.
“Outside of a three-minute stretch (at the end of the first half), I thought our defense was awfully good,” Gottfried said. “I thought he (Leslie) was very active. He was active defensively. His hands were active and his feet were active. He got some deflections and turned them into fast break opportunities.”
Georgia Tech did not have a player score in double figures in the contest.
With the win, coupled with Virginia’s loss at Boston College, the Pack is now tied for fourth place in the conference standings with the Cavaliers, but Virginia owns the tie-breaker, as several schools are still jockeying for a coveted first round bye in the ACC Tournament in two weeks.
Gottfried, however, was not ready to look that far ahead.
“With us, the bottom line is we have got to take care of the things that we can take of,” Gottfried said. “So, it really does not matter what anyone else does.”
“We are 10-3 when Lorenzo (Brown) has played in this league, 0-3 without him.” Gottfried added. “We have missed some opportunities, no question. But we are coming along, improving, and playing good basketball right now.”
N.C. State will return to action on Wednesday at PNC Arena against Wake Forest at 9 p.m. and it will be Senior Day for Howell, forward Scott Wood and guard Jay Lewis.
