NC State pulls out coveted road win
BOSTON — Scott Wood atoned for a scoreless first half with 12 points in the second, hitting two 3-pointers and six free throws down the stretch as No. 23 North Carolina State held off Boston College 78-73 on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
The Wolfpack (12-2, 1-0) won their ninth straight, their longest streak since 1983-84, but only after giving the Eagles several opportunities to pull off an upset.
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Rodney Purvis scored 19 points, Richard Howell finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Lorenzo Brown had 14 points and eight assists for the Wolfpack.
Boston College (8-6, 0-1) missed a chance to tie when Purvis fouled Patrick Heckmann on a 3-point attempt with 18.9 seconds left. Heckmann, a 93 percent shooter from the line coming in, made 2 of 3 and the Eagles were forced to foul Wood two more times.
Wood made four more free throws to seal it.
Ryan Anderson had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Boston College, which had won five straight.
The Eagles led by as many as six points midway through the second half, but the Wolfpack came through with a late rally and overcame their own mistakes to win their fifth straight over the Eagles.
And there were plenty of mistakes.
The teams combined for 44 fouls and took 36 free throws in the second half alone. In the end, the Eagles faltered more from the line than the Wolfpack.
The back-and-forth fouling continued throughout the second half as did the streaky foul shooting.
Anderson hit a free throw to it for Boston College at 59-all, but missed on his second attempt. Lonnie Jackson was there for the rebound and his tip allowed the Eagles to maintain possession. Jackson made his save count with a 3-pointer, but Purvis answered from beyond the arc to tie it again at 62-62.
NC State finally regained the lead for good when Wood, who had been 0 for 2 in the first half, hit from beyond the arc and put NC State up 67-64.
Joe Rahon, who had 18 points, had a chance to retake the lead late for BC, but missed everything on a turnaround jumper in the lane and the Wolfpack got the rebound, calling time out with 1:01 left and still up 69-68. Wood hit another 3-pointer to put NC State up 72-68, but the Eagles weren't quite done.
Anderson drew a foul while dunking a rebound and his three-point play drew BC within 72-71 with 27 seconds left. But the Eagles had to foul and picked Wood, who made all six of his attempts from the line.
NC State was 12 for 21 from the field in the first half, but the Wolfpack made just 4 of 11 foul shots and pulled down only one offensive rebound in the period. NC State still led 29-28 at halftime, thanks in part to the Eagles' own struggles from the foul line.
BC made 9 of 15 free throws in the first half.