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Deacs send state 'Packing, move on to tourney
By Jordan Webster
Senior Reporter

There was plenty on the line in the Deacons’ regular season finale against Big Four foe North Carolina State March 2. The winner would nab the third seed in this weekend’s ACC tournament and would solidify its Selection Sunday resumé. Furthermore, what was one of the league’s most contentious rivalries has been considerably one-sided of late, with the Deacs getting the best of the last five match-ups.

But most importantly, it was Senior Day for the Demon Deacons. And one of the most talented classes in school history wasn’t about to go out on the wrong end of its last game.

Senior forward Darius Songaila manhandled a host of Wolfpack interior defenders on his way to a team-high 20 points. Songaila also grabbed 18 rebounds, but his most impressive stat was three: the number of Wolfpack players who committed their five allotted fouls in an attempt to defend the Lithuanian. No one on N.C. State Head Coach Herb Sendek’s roster was successful guarding Songaila, especially after halftime. Sixteen of his 20 points came in the second half, and the Deacs kept returning to the well, feeding the 6-foot-8 forward on nearly every possession down the stretch.

"Darius Songaila was dominant," Sendek said. "Twenty points, 18 rebounds, got to the line 14 times himself — very much like our first game against them, he just controlled the basketball game.

"Even when he didn’t score, our helping to him so many times led to other guys getting off."

"They were very physical and very aggressive in the post," Songaila said. "When you play against that kind of defense, you can’t back down. You have to be as aggressive and as physical as you can."

The Deacons improved to 19-11 with the win, and 9-7 in the ACC. It is the first time since the 1996-97 season that the Deacs finished with a winning conference record. Head Coach Skip Prosser’s team will play sixth-seeded Georgia Tech in the first round of the conference tournament on March 8 in Charlotte.

Following a pre-game ceremony honoring the six Demon Deacon seniors — Songaila, Antwan Scott, Broderick Hicks, Craig Dawson, Ervin Murray and Brett Hickman — and the playing of the Lithuanian national anthem for Songaila, the Deacons exploded in the early minutes, building an 11-2 lead less than three minutes into the game.

State came back with the next 10 points to go up by one at 12-11, but the Wolfpack lead was shortlived as a Dawson three-pointer from the top of the key put the Deacs back in front, 14-12.

The Deacons maintained a small lead for the next few minutes, before a five-point play sparked a 9-0 run. With 7:34 to play before halftime, Hicks drained a three from about 28 feet out to put the Deacs ahead, 29-22. As the shot fell through the net, State’s Ilian Evtimov was whistled for a foul as he and freshman forward Vytas Danelius battled for rebounding position. Danelius hit both ends of the one-and-one, and the Deacs led by nine.

A dunk by Scott and a reverse lay-in by junior guard Steve Lepore finished the run and gave the Deacs their largest lead of the game, 35-22. A tip-in by Dawson at the end of the first half put the Deacons up by nine, 45-36, at halftime.

State wasn’t about to go down without a fight, though, and scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half to pare its nine-point deficit to just one, 47-46, after a dunk by Marcus Melvin. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes as the Deacs held on to a narrow advantage, but with 7:26 left, Anthony Grundy knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing to even things at 58-58.

Ties at 60 and 62 would follow, but then a couple non-seniors would join Songaila in putting the Wolfpack away. Danelius gave the Deacs the lead for good at 64-62 with a putback at 5:08. After a free throw by Grundy, a bucket by Songaila and a short jumper by junior forward Josh Howard extended the Deacon lead to five, 68-63.

Then Howard provided the icing on the cake. After Danelius blocked an Evtimov shot on the defensive end, the Deacons ran a play for Songaila. The senior left the shot short, but as it dangled on the front of the rim, Howard pounced, throwing down a one-handed slam with 3:23 remaining that sent the crowd into a frenzy and clinched things for the Deacons.

All but two of the Deacs’ final 13 points would come from the foul line.

Prosser substituted for his five scholarship seniors with 17.9 seconds left, and they left the floor of the Joel Coliseum for the last time to a standing ovation. With Murray on at the foul line, the other four members of the senior fivesome celebrated at midcourt, exchanging hugs and smiles with one another.

"We’ve been here for four years, and us five seniors have went through a lot," Songaila said. "We had a lot of good experiences and bad experiences, and in a game like this, our last game at home in front of the home crowd, a lot of things go through your head. You just remember and just want to share that moment and that happiness with those guys that you’ve been through all these wars with."

The seniors have at least several wars remaining, though, starting with the Deacs’ first-round tussle with a Georgia Tech team that has won eight of its last 10 games, including a 90-77 defeat of the Deacons Feb. 27 in Atlanta.

"We have a big challenge with Georgia Tech," Prosser said. "They waxed us (last time). We know that, but they know that too, so they’ll be confident.

"I would expect it will be a war."