NCSU Student Media
Junior forward C.J. Leslie boxes out the offense during the game against Boston College in PNC Arena Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The Wolfpack defeated the Eagles 82-64, for a total of 20 wins on the season. Photo by John Joyner.
The N.C. State Wolfpack beat the Boston College Eagles 82-64 Wednesday night at PNC Arena, earning its second consecutive 20-win season.
“We have to show a better commitment [to defense] and I thought tonight was a good step in the right direction to us,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We just have to continue to focus and do the fundamental things defensively.”
Freshman guard Rodney Purvis led the Wolfpack with 21 points, setting a new career high.
Purvis has played well in both games this season against Boston College, scoring 19 points in the teams’ first meeting in Chestnut Hill, Mass. in January.
Purvis has endured a disappointing stretch of games after being held scoreless against Clemson earlier this month.
Through the last three games, Gottfried has opted for a starting lineup that has included freshman forward T.J. Warren, with Purvis coming off the bench.
“[Rodney] started for a lot of games and then we changed the lineup,” Gottfried said. “That’s not a fun thing to do if you’re that guy. He’s responded in a positive way. Its how life works — when you practice really hard, good things are going to happen.”
“The last few weeks have been really tough on me,” Purvis said. “Never did I get down on myself or anything. I stayed in the gym at nights and just try to stick to myself, mentally. “
The game began slowly with both teams playing stifling defense. Gottfried was more animated than usual on the sideline, telling his players to fight through screens and help on defense.
“I liked the fact tonight [that] our guys were down in their stance, they were communicating, talking, moving, taking away dribble penetration [and] rotating to the next shooter,” Gottfried said. “Our guys I thought were locked in pretty good defensively.”
The Wolfpack’s (20-8, 9-6 ACC) hard-nosed defense eventually paid off. After going down 2-0 early, the Pack went on a 21-4 run courtesy of some excellent ball movement and selfless defense. The run was capped by a big dunk from junior forward Calvin Leslie, who was fouled on the play.
Leslie responded well from his poor showing against Carolina on Saturday, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
“[Calvin] passed the ball, he rebounded,” Gottfried said. “Every team expects their better players to play well … we have that expectation for him every night.”
Despite being down 21-6 with almost nine minutes left in the first half, Boston College continued to fight. The Eagles (12-16, 4-11 ACC) resolve saw paid off, cutting the score to 30-27 in favor of the Wolfpack with 30 seconds left in the half.
After a Wolfpack timeout, State ran a set play for senior forward Scott Wood to shoot a 3-pointer. Wood’s attempt was blocked, but he grabbed the loose ball and made an off-balance shot from outside the 3-point line, sending the Pack into halftime up 33-27.
The second half stayed close until Leslie tipped in his missed layup attempt with 14:50 left, sparking a 18-7 run for the Wolfpack. Junior guard Lorenzo Brown ran the offense with aplomb during this stretch, helping State pull out a 20 point lead. The Pack never looked back.
The news was not all positive for the Pack though. Brown’s ankle injury, incurred earlier this month at Virginia, flared up again. This resulted in him spending the final minutes of the game on the bench while the walk-ons finished the game, to the delight of the PNC Arena crowd.
“[Lorenzo’s] ankle was really hurting him there,” Gottfried said. “We’ve got tomorrow to rest, then we’ll take a look at it on Friday.”
Wood played a big part in the Wolfpack’s win, scoring 17 points and making five three-pointers. Wood now has 312 career three-pointers as a member of the Wolfpack, only 10 away from tying the N.C. State record held by Rodney Monroe.
N.C. State will take on Georgia Tech Sunday at 6 p.m. in Atlanta.