Meucheln » ACC tournament would be a one-and-done stop

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. The Wolfpack didnt squander it, instead sending Jim Boeheim and No. 11 Syracuse to a quick exit from their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. T.J. Warren scored 28 points while Ralston Turner banked in the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:28 left to help N.C. State upset the Orange 66-63 in Fridays quarterfinals, continuing both the Wolfpacks push for the NCAAs and the Oranges downward late-season trend. The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-12) blew a 10-point second-half lead but came through with two clutch baskets late to hold off the Orange (27-5) in front of a home-state crowd in Greensboro. It was a huge win for N.C. State, which came into the year picked to finish 10th in the league with a young team and instead finished 9-9. That included one-point losses on last-second baskets to Wake Forest and rival North Carolina, as well as one to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last month. "I hope that were a legitimate contender," Gottfried said. "Were not the same team that we were in November and December. When you lose 80 per cent of your scoring from a year ago, its going to take a while to figure yourselves out." Now N.C. State has won four straight heading into Saturdays semifinals against No. 7 Duke, marking the third time in three seasons that N.C. State has reached Saturday at the ACC tournament under Gottfried. This win could help Gottfried also make it 3 for 3 with the NCAAs, too. "I think so," Turner said when asked about whether N.C. State should be in, "but thats not up to me." Warren followed Turners tiebreaking 3 with a jumper to make it 64-61, then hit two free throws with 24.6 seconds left to keep the Wolfpack up three. Syracuse had one wild final possession, missing six shots -- including four hurried 3-pointers from Tyler Ennis, Trevor Cooney and C.J. Fair -- to ensure its first ACC tournament would be a one-and-done stop. "I thought the 3s we were taking, we had a couple of good chances," Ennis said, "but they just didnt fall." Ennis scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime for Syracuse, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country a month ago but has faded down the stretch. The tournaments No. 2 seed had lost four of six coming into Greensboro, though Boeheim has dismissed the suggestion that his team was in a slump. That talk will probably grow louder with another loss -- Syracuse is 2-5 after a 25-0 start -- heading into the NCAA tournament. Syracuse shot 33 per cent Friday, with leading scorer Fair scoring nine points on 3-for-16 shooting. "Im not concerned about our team," Boeheim said. "I think weve played well all year. I think weve struggled shooting, and I think thats pretty well-documented. But in spite of that, we won 27 games, so Im pretty pleased with what these guys have done, and I believe well be a very good tournament team." Warren, the ACCs leading scorer and player of the year, finished 9 for 21 from the field but hit 10 of 12 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds. "I just wanted to find open spots on the floor," Warren said. "Their zone is so spread out that its easy to find little gaps and little separation. Theyre very athletic so youve really got to think quick to get your shots up." Fifth-year senior Jordan Vandenberg added 10 points for N.C. State, which led 28-25 at halftime then shot 52 per cent after halftime. The Wolfpacks win against reigning champion Miami in Thursdays second round set up the rematch with Syracuse, who was still atop the polls when it edged N.C. State 56-55 on Feb. 15. Syracuse won that after the Wolfpack committed a late turnover that led to Fairs winning layup with 6.7 seconds left. There was also a much-discussed call in which officials waved off a basket from Warren while being fouled with 13.6 seconds left because the foul came before the shot with N.C. State up one. This one came down the stretch just like before, but the Wolfpack didnt let this one get away. "Sometimes those kind of things balance out in life," Gottfried said. "We had the tough one earlier in the year where we didnt finish the game. Today, maybe fate was on our side on that last possession." Cheap Bruins Jerseys Authentic . Mission accomplished. Now the Royals will take the field on Saturday with a World Series lead for the first time in team history when they play Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Giants at AT&T Park. Cheap Bruins Jerseys China . Ozuna hit Reeds 2-2 pitch off the batters eye far above the 407-foot sign in straightaway centre. It was the fifth blown save in 25 tries for Reed (1-5) and the ninth home run the closer has allowed in 38 appearances. Nuno, acquired in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, gave up three hits, struck out a career-high seven and walked one in seven innings. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.com/. He is nigh unstoppable against the leagues worst. The 31-year-old dangerman set up two goals and scored two himself as Toronto FC rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the slumping Houston Dynamo 4-2 on Saturday night. Wholesale Bruins Jerseys . -- After a year spent travelling the world, Brooks Koepka suddenly is in a position to play a lot more golf at home. Cheap Boston Bruins Jerseys . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports.Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Pierce netted 12 of his 17 points against his former team in the first quarter and the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics, 101-88, on Saturday night. Feeling good, its around the New Years, this is when I start to turn up my game, Pierce said. Kris Humphries posted 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while John Wall added 12 points and seven assists for the Wizards, who have won eight of their last 10 games. Jeff Green provided a game-high 23 points for Boston, which has dropped four straight games. They were into us. They were physical. They were aggressive, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of the Wizards. The Wizards raced out to a 15-2 start and never looked baack, leading by as many as 24 down the stretch.dddddddddddd Pierce poured in eight points during the early stages of the game. Boston shot 4-of-16 in the opening quarter, compared to 13-of-24 for Washington. Washington led 30-12 following a quarter of play, 56-39 at the break and 80-63 going into the fourth. Otto Porters drive and dunk staked the Wizards to their largest advantage of 97-73 with 3:11 remaining. Game Notes The Wizards scored 22 points off 18 Boston turnovers ... Pierce, who played just under 19 minutes, finished 6-of-9 from the floor ... Washington held a 48-36 rebounding and 44-34 points in the paint advantage ... Boston was just 6-of-24 from beyond the arc. ' ' '