March 14, 2003
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Josh Powell had 18 points, and Scooter Sherrill and Marcus Melvin added 15 each as North Carolina State helped its NCAA hopes by beating Georgia Tech 71-65 in the ACC tournament Friday.
Herb Sendek improved to 6-1 in opening games as the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (17-11) advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
N.C. State will play No. 1 seed Wake Forest (24-4) Saturday. The ninth-ranked Demon Deacons beat Florida State 69-61 in the opening quarterfinal game and swept the Wolfpack twice during the regular season.
Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets (14-14) dropped six of eight since a 90-84 upset of Maryland on Feb. 9. Chris Bosh led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolfpack, in a month-long shooting slump beyond the arc, was money from there Friday, making 11-of-21 while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Sherrill scored a combined 14 points in two meetings with Georgia Tech this season, but he was on his outside game this time, making five of his first seven shots from 3-point range.
Still, N.C. State trailed 56-51 with 8:35 left and was getting beat up on the inside before taking the lead with a 9-0 run as Melvin sank a 3-pointer and a 12-footer, while Powell added a layup.
The Yellow Jackets closed to 62-60 with 3:49 left, but Melvin sank a 3-pointer and added two key free throws with 36.7 seconds left that put the Wolfpack up 67-60.
Georgia Tech didn’t help its cause by missing 12 of its first 14 shots to fall into an early hole.
The Yellow Jackets stayed within a basket or two before the Wolfpack closed the half on an 11-4 run as Sherrill and Clifford Crawford sank 3-pointers. Crawford’s came at the halftime buzzer for a 34-25 N.C. State lead.
Powell, who has played well over the last month of the season, had his best half of the year, scoring 11 points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking four shots. The 6-foot-9 center set the tone early with two rejections in the opening 4:47.
N.C. State could have led by more at halftime, but was just 2-for-7 from the foul line. That’s uncharacteristic of the Wolfpack, who came in having made 90 of its last 102 and whose 77.4 percent mark is the best from the line in the ACC since North Carolina shot 78.3 percent in 1984.
