Deacs fight back, beat N.C. State in OT
By Margaret McKenzie
Old Gold and Black Reporter

> February 1, 2001

Last night, in an attempt to extract the Deacons from a slump that has lasted for the better part of a month, Head Coach Dave Odom decided to tinker with his lineup, displacing three of his regular starters. But after allowing a 16-point second-half lead to evaporate, it took a total team effort to pull off a 74-69 overtime victory over a pesky N.C. State team in ACC play at Joel Coliseum.

Senior Rafael Vidaurreta and juniors Broderick Hicks and Craig Dawson started against the Wolfpack as Odom chose to bench – at least temporarily – seniors Josh Shoemaker and Robert O’Kelley and junior Ervin Murray.

In the end it was O’Kelley, a mainstay in the Deacon starting lineup since his freshman year, that was on the floor and proved to be instrumental in the win. The Memphis, Tenn. native led the Deacons with 14 points, among them a twisting layup with 1:26 left in overtime to put the Deacons ahead by three. Prior to last night, O’Kelley had started 28 consecutive games.

“Robert came off the bench and gave us a very good game tonight,” Odom said.

“Down the stretch we wanted him on the court. He hit the shot, that driving layup that was so very important to us (in overtime).

“And I thought his leadership was outstanding.”

Despite leading the game throughout, O’Kelley and the Deacons were fortunate to extend the game to the overtime period. After leading for the first 39 minutes of the game, the Deacons found themselves staring at possible defeat when an Anthony Grundy free throw gave the Wolfpack a 60-59 lead with just 49.6 seconds left in regulation. The N.C. State lead swelled to three with a pair of Kenny Inge free throws with 14.5 seconds left, but junior guard Broderick Hicks, starting for the first time in 10 games, drained a three-pointer with 5.6 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Hicks also nailed the game-tying trey at the end of regulation in the Deacs’ loss to Cincinnati Jan. 27.

“I don’t know how to describe (Hicks’ shot),” Odom said. “It was heaven sent.”

Five different players then scored for the Deacons in overtime, including a thunderous slam from sophomore Josh Howard to open scoring in the extra frame and the clutch bucket from O’Kelley. Howard, like O’Kelley, has faced adversity recently, albeit of a different sort. A week-long bout with the flu had relegated Howard to the bench for all but 18 minutes of the Deacons’ last two games, but the forward from Winston-Salem bounced back in a big way against the Wolfpack, scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

Three other Deacons scored in double figures for the game – junior forward Darius Songaila scored 13 in only 13 minutes, Hicks had 11, and junior guard Craig Dawson had 10.

The new starting lineup paid immediate dividends for Odom, as the Deacons opened the game with a 13-2 run. Howard and Songaila, the only two starters spared in Odom’s lineup shuffle, led the early charge, scoring 11 of the 13 points in the spurt.

The Deacons maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the first half, but could not put the ‘Pack away, and took a 37-25 lead into halftime.

The lead reached 16 at 50-34 when Vidaurretta hit one of two free throws with just over 12 minutes remaining.

But with Songaila on the bench in foul trouble, the Deacon offense sputtered. In the 11 minutes that the 6-foot-8 forward spent on the sideline, the Deacs went cold from both the field and the foul line, managing only seven points while N.C. State shaved a 16-point deficit to five. Songaila returned briefly to score three points and draw the fifth foul on Thornton, but fouled out with nearly three minutes left.

With average foul shooting, the Deacons could have easily sealed the win. But despite being in the double bonus for the last eight minutes of regulation, the Deacs were unable to close the deal, hitting only 6 of 16 from the line in the second half, as well as misfiring on the front end of a one-and-one on three separate occasions.

The Deacs will start the second half of conference play with a trip to Charlottesville, Va. to face Virginia Feb. 3.