Desperate N.C. State loses to Georgia Tech

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Javier Gonzalez was desperate, and desperation makes for great theatrics on the basketball court.

N.C. State’s junior point guard saw Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors blowing by him for what could have been an easy basket, so Gonzalez did the only thing he knew to stop him.

He grabbed Favors’ jersey and pulled as hard as he could. Favors fell to the Greensboro Coliseum hardwood. An intentional foul was called. The sequence put the ACC Tournament semifinal game in perfect perspective.

N.C. State was in great need of a win, knowing its only chance at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament depended on making and winning the conference title game.

The situation wasn’t as dire for the Yellow Jackets, who ended up pulling out a 57-54 victory Saturday to advance to play top-seeded Duke in today’s 1 p.m. championship game, but they knew another victory would have been great for their NCAA tournament resume.

“I saw Favors, and he shoots like 50 percent, so the only thing I was able to do was grab his jersey,” Gonzalez said. “I mean, it was an intentional foul, but it didn’t hurt him that bad.”

Favors, a true freshman who could be an NBA lottery pick in June, went to the line after the hard foul, and sank one of two free throws. Then, on the following possession, the 6-foot-10 Favors connected on a layup under the basket to give the Jackets a 52-47 lead with 1:27 left.

“He’s going to be not just a good player, but a great player because he always keeps his head,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. “He may go into the locker room and let out a scream every once in a while ... but I’m telling you, he’s got some really special qualities.”

N.C. State (19-13), the first No. 11 seed to ever advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals, closed to within 55-54 a short time later on a Gonzalez 3-pointer, but the Wolfpack was forced to foul D’Andre Bell on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Bell made both free throws with 11 seconds left to put Georgia Tech (22-11) up 57-54.

“I knew it was going to be a dogfight, but I didn’t think it was going to come down to that,” Bell said. “I figured because of our frontcourt, Gani (Lawal) and Favors, that we would win comfortably, but as you can see, (we didn’t).”

The Wolfpack, which was down 29-19 at halftime, had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds, but Gonzalez missed a 3-pointer with a few ticks left on the clock. The rebound was tipped back to Gonzalez, who was standing behind the 3-point arc, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.

“I had room to get it off,” Gonzalez said of his missed 3-pointer. “I just missed.”

Georgia Tech pounded N.C. State inside for most of the game. Favors led all scorers with 17 points, and Lawal, another projected NBA first-rounder, had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets held the Wolfpack to 30.6 percent shooting. Gonzalez, who couldn’t seem to miss a shot the previous night against FSU, made only 3 of 14 field goal attempts and scored only nine points.

The win certainly helps Georgia Tech’s NCAA tournament chances, but Hewitt said he prefers his team earn an automatic bid with a victory today over the Blue Devils.

“We have a chance to make ourselves a lock (today), and that’s the mindset we have right now,” Hewitt said.

Read Warters’ blog at www.mynewsadvance.com, and follow him on Twitter at @nathanwarters.