A Surprise Run in the Sunshine State

 

Brandon Costner drives during the 2007 ACC title game vs. UNC-CH.

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BY TIM PEELER
(c) NC State University, 2007

TAMPA, Fla. – The hurt was evident in the lockerroom, and NC State first-year head coach Sidney Lowe was OK with that. His Wolfpack fell, 89-80, to top-seeded North Carolina in the 2007 ACC Tournament Championship game, a contest that was essentially decided in the final 90 seconds.

The Tar Heels took the title by making free throws down the line and, based on the way they played here over three days at the St. Pete Times Forum, they could be in position to go on a roll in the NCAA Tournament that starts next week.

But what history may remember about the 54^th-annual league championship is that Lowe and his team made a statement about the future of the Wolfpack program.

 “We have a program on the rise,” said senior guard Engin Atsur. “It’s [Coach Lowe’s] first year, and he had a limited roster. I think we did a great job this year. It’s going to be much better next year.

“I think NC State is going to be back in the glory days.”

Atsur won’t return for that, of course, since his eligibility will end when this season is over. The Wolfpack will play in the National Invitation Tournament, which begins next week. It will go in with momentum, and just might be capable, depending on Atsur’s injured hamstring, of making a run in that 32-team field.

All-in-all, it’s not a bad position for a team that had a limited roster and a program that was picked in the preseason to finish last in the ACC.

Lowe wasn’t into taking any credit for that, but he does like what the future looks like.

“Most of these kids are coming back,” Lowe said. “With another year of experience, plus a couple more pieces we have to the puzzle, maybe they will get a little more credit based on what they did this year.

“And we are still not done yet.”

One player who certainly should have gained confidence over the last four days is redshirt freshman Brandon Costner, who was an All-Freshman team selection and a first-team All ACC Tournament pick. With 90 points in four games, he broke the NC State record for points in a tournament, which was shared by David Thompson (1975) and C.C. Harrison (1997).

“It doesn’t really mean much unless you win,” Costner said.

The left-handed forward will definitely head into next season as a featured player on the Wolfpack roster, along with Gavin Grant, Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells. Lowe should certainly have a collection of talent and a much deeper bench to choose from.

“The future looks bright for us,” Grant said. “Coach Lowe is a great coach and he is going to continue to funnel great players into NC State.”

But what many will remember about the Wolfpack’s four-day run here in Florida is gutty competitiveness of Lowe’s team, their effort on the court and their motivation to prove all doubters wrong. North Carolina coach Roy Williams expressed his admiration and respect for the way Lowe’s team played throughout the year.

“This is what Coach Lowe and his program are all about,” McCauley said. “He pushes us to win. He pushes us to the limit.

“This is the way NC State basketball is going to be played from now on.”

Costner, a freshman, scored 30 points.

North Carolina 89, NC State 80
March 11, 2007
St. Pete Times Forum

TAMPA, Fla. – NC State wasn’t too tired to make a comeback against top-seeded North Carolina in Sunday’s ACC Championship game. But Sidney Lowe’s team couldn’t pull off its fourth upset in as many days for the Wolfpack to win the 11^th ACC title in school history, losing 89-80 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Trailing by 16 with 13:51 to play, the Wolfpack went on a scoring run led by junior Gavin Grant that cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 70-69 on a falling forward jumper sophomore Courtney Fells with five minutes to play in the contest. The Wolfpack made 14 of its first 20 shots in the second half during its run to erase the Tar Heels’ double-digit advantage.

However, the Wolfpack missed its next three shots and the Tar Heels made six consecutive free throws to seal the lead. UNC made its first 16 free throws in the second half.

It’s the 16^th ACC title for the Tar Heels, tying them with Duke for the most in ACC Tournament history.

Redshirt freshman Brandon Costner had another 30 points in the contest, for a four-day total of 90 to break the NC State scoring record for the ACC Tournament of 84 points, held by both David Thompson (1975) and C.C. Harrison (1997).

North Carolina took a 42-34 lead into halftime, primarily because the Wolfpack failed to make a field goal in the final 3:50 of the half, getting its only points on a pair of free throws by Costner, allowing the Tar Heels to grab the lead.

Behind Costner’s scoring, Lowe’s team jumped out to an 18-12 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, as the Wolfpack tried to win its first ACC title since 1987.

The Wolfpack, who shot an even 50 percent from the field in the first half, made five of its nine 3-point attempts, including two each by Costner and sophomore Courtney Fells. But it gave away its lead away by committing three turnovers in a 50-second span, allowing the Tar Heels to tie the score at 21 and then re-take the lead on an inside basket by freshman Deon Thompson.

ACC Rookie of the Year Brandan Wright was practically unstoppable for the Tar Heels in the first half, scoring 14 points. However, sophomore Tyler Hansbrough, the Heels’ leading scorer, had just two points in the opening half. Hansbrough scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, mostly att he

The two teams traded baskets until the three-minute mark, when North Carolina senior Wes Miller came off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of just 20 seconds. The Wolfpack also gave up a layup to Wright with 25 seconds remaining in the half to give the Heels, who made 60.7 percent of their shots from the field, their eight-point lead.

As it did in its win earlier this year in Raleigh, the Wolfpack out-rebounded the Tar Heels 13-11 in the first half, including five offensive rebounds after getting an ACC Tournament-low zero offensive boards in Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech. The Pack also had 10 turnovers in the first half.

Lowe was looking to join NC State’s Everett Case (1954), Duke’s Vic Bubas (1960), NC State’s Press Maravich (1965) and North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (1998) among the coaches who led their teams to championships in their first ACC Tournaments.