NCAA Game Summary - North Carolina State vs. Duke

03.12.2005

Washington, DC (Basketball News) - J.J. Redick poured in 35 points to lead fifth-ranked Duke to a 76-69 victory over North Carolina State in the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament at the MCI Center.

Shelden Williams posted 15 points and nine rebounds and Daniel Ewing netted 14 points for the third-seeded Blue Devils (24-5), who made it to the final game of the ACC Tournament for the eighth straight year. Duke lost to Maryland in last year’s final to have its string of five straight conference titles halted.

The Blue Devils will face fifth-seeded Georgia Tech in Sunday’s title game. The Yellow Jackets upset top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday.

Andrew Brackman recorded a team-high 13 points for the seventh-seeded Wolfpack (19-13), who lost for just the second time in six tries.

Engin Atsur posted 12 points in the loss, while Ilian Evtimov and Julius Hodge chipped in 11 points apiece.

Duke trailed 38-34 at halftime, but it was able to turn the tide in the second half. The Wolfpack pushed their lead to 46-38 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Blue Devils answered with a 10-0 explosion to take a 48-46 advantage. Redick capped the run with a three-pointer to give Duke the two-point edge with 14:27 remaining.

NC State was able to wrestle the lead back and held a 53-49 cushion after Gavin Grant made a set of free throws with 12:14 left. That’s when Duke used a 14-2 run to grab the lead for good. Redick hit a trio of three-pointers in the stretch and Williams made a layup to make it a 63-55 game with 8:31 left.

The Wolfpack would cut the deficit to 63-60 after Atsur made a pair of free throws with 7:32 left, but Duke used another big burst to push its advantage to 71-61 with 4:04 remaining. NC State could get no closer than six points of the lead in the closing minutes.

The first half was tight throughout with no team holding larger than a five- point lead. Duke held a four-point edge on a few occasions late in the first half with the last time coming after Redick’s set of free throws made it 32-28 with 4:23 left.

The Wolfpack closed the opening half on a 10-2 run to open a 38-34 lead at the break. The key bucket during the stretch came when Atsur converted a three- point play with 3:05 left.

Redick led all scorers with 14 points at halftime, while Bennerman paced NC State with nine points.

Redick set a Duke record for points in an ACC Tournament game...The Blue Devils have won 14 ACC Tournaments — one shy of the conference mark held by North Carolina...The Blue Devils shot 50-percent from the field (28-of-56), including 11-of-23 from three-point range...NC State connected on 44-percent of its field goals (24-of-55) and made 8-of-25 three-pointers.

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