Liveblog! NC State @ Virginia Tech -- First Half

[9:00PM] My drink is poured and I'm ready to go. Let's pray for a good night.

[9:03PM] Oh, great, Cliff Ellis. We've got the fourth string announcers to go with Fox Sports' lovely fourth-rate production.

[9:08PM] Atsur/Fells/Costner/McCauley/Grant to get us started.

Big Ben gets us going with two in the lane. Collins misses a layup at the other end, Costner hits the ball out of bounds but refs give it to us anyway. I'll take it. And there's the first turnover...McCauley pass tipped, Atsur steps on the line trying to recover it.

[9:10PM] VT can't convert off an offensive board, McCauley gets a dunk in transition. Like the defensive effort so far.

Fells with a poor shot, but McCauley is there for the board...nothing on the second chance, though. Dowdell gets Tech's first bucket three and a half minutes into the game. We're moving along quickly so far.

[9:11PM] I need more whistles...it's hard to make time for drinkin' what with this pace.

[9:15PM] Atsur misses a deep three after McCauley unfortunately passes up an open jumper. VT still cold, fortunately. We're gonna need this to continue all night. Costner misses a three...ugh.

[9:16PM] Two offensive boards and a dunk on that possession for VT. Gotta box out...this is not a good offensive rebounding team.

Atsur for three! Good sign. Dowdell then breaks his ankles at the other end and hits a 16-footer.

[9:19PM] Nieman and Fergy are in the game for Atsur and Fells...this is a scary backcourt. McCauley gets two more off a goaltend. I don't think Tech has committed a foul yet--we're under 13:00.

McCauley hits an 18-foot jumper...he's got 8 pts (I think).

[9:23PM] I'm not sure it's possible to commit two fouls faster than Dennis Horner just did. Bummer. Ferguson misses a three, Costner rebounds and immediately travels. D'oh.

Nieman and Fergy are both low-usage players/non-factors...I don't think they should ever be on the court at the same time since that puts basically two vacant positions on the floor. But I'm not the coach.

[9:25PM] Wow, Bimbo Coles totally has a banner.

[9:27PM] Costner hits two FTs. 15-8, halfway through the first.

McCauley is 5-6 from the field now, Tech with a quick miss--they're 3-15.

[9:30PM] Pack comes out of the timeout in the 2-3 zone. Refs miss a double dribble call, Vassallo nails a three. I don't think we needed to change defenses...they had eight points in 11 minutes. Costner leaves one short, Tech rebounds, scores quickly and the rally is on.

Terrible entry pass by Fells = turnover. Fortunately VT gives it right back. Beautiful dish by Atsur to Big Ben.

[9:31PM] Vassallo nails a three with a hand in his face. We'd switched back to man-to-man, not surprisingly.

[9:35PM] So I found out recently that Brad Dougherty is back on ESPN, but he's covering NASCAR. That just don't seem right.

Costner with a drive and a lay-in. VT comes up empty at the other end. 21-16 Pack.

[9:36PM] Engin gets open and hits another three. McCauley with the assist. Air ball from Deron Washington! Fells then dunks the ball, but I have no idea what it looked like thanks to Fox Sports. Thanks, FSN.

[9:39PM] "Cash deposit!" -- Cliff Ellis. You can stop right there, Cliff. Because I've been drinking and that's still not funny.

And now it's getting ugly. We're doing pretty well on the offensive glass but have gotten sloppy with the ball. Had opportunities to push the lead to double digits...instead, it's six.

[9:40PM] Under-four timeout, 26-20. Sidney Lowe points and says, "You're killin' me, Courtney!" Well, he didn't really say that. But he should have.

[9:41PM] Mmmm...monster biscuit.

[9:43PM] Dang; BC has eight boards already. Then he gets called for a cheap illegal screen. Garbage. Atsur commits his second foul.

[9:46PM] Fells bricks a three, gets a layup after a defensive stop. Haven't heard much from he or Gavin so far. Lucky shot in the lane for Engin, but I'll take it.

Krabbendam is the suck. My goodness is he not good at the putting the ball through the hoop. Which is the whole point, you know.

[9:49PM] Dumb play by Gavin leads to a Zabian Dowdell three pointer and foul. So it looks like we'll be up just two at the half.

Yep, it's a two point NC State lead at the half, 30-28. Fortunately I've had too much to drink to be upset about the finish.