Fouls, Favors bump Pack from tournament

The men's basketball team's unexpected run through the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. came to an end in the semifinals Saturday as seventh-seeded Georgia Tech held on to set up a final matchup with Duke tomorrow at 1:30 in Greensboro Coliseum.

N.C. State (19-13) lost a physical battle to the Yellow Jackets as the Wolfpack faded down the stretch with leading-scorer Tracy Smith on the bench with foul trouble. Smith led State with 15 points in 28 minutes.

The Pack lost momentum at a pivotal moment down the stretch, as point guard Javier Gonzalez turned the ball over at midcourt with 1:31 left and then nearly pulled Tech's Derrick Favors to the ground to prevent a big dunk. Gonzalez was whistled for an intentional foul and State was stuck down three late.

"They [were] about to score and I saw it was Favors and he's shooting about 50 percent," Gonzalez said. "The only thing I was able to do was grab his jersey."

Lowe said while the moment was pivotal, he was proud of his team's reaction as Favors missed a free throw and the Pack got a stop after Tech retained possession.

"Anytime there's a swing like that, that's a factor," Lowe said. "What I like is we got focus right back again and just kept plugging along."

Gonzalez hit a three with 13 seconds left to make it a one-point game, so after two made free throws, State was in a position to tie it up with 11 seconds left. Coming off a double-ball screen, Gonzalez launched a potentially game-tying shot from deep, but the ball clanged off the back of the iron and time expired before the Pack could get another quality shot..

"I guess I just had to make something happen," Gonzalez said. "I had a little room to get it off, and I got it off, but I missed."