Late-Game Heroics Get NC State By St. Bonaventure, 67-65

Box Score

(More video: WTVD has a higher quality version of the last play, though the angle is not great.)

St. Bonaventure was up six points before Scott Wood hit a three-pointer with 9:37 left in the game, and from there neither team would lead by more than three points again. In the last three minutes, the Pack got a clutch jump shot from Wood, a savvy pass from Wood to CJ Williams for a layup, and a couple of Wood free throws.

State had a chance to salt the game away and the ball was in Wood's hands, but he gave it up to Alex Johnson, who was fouled with about 13 seconds left and the Pack up two. It was a one-and-one situation, and as we all know, the law of NC State Shit clearly outlines how that would go. Johnson missed the front end, Bonaventure came down, drew a foul, and hit both free throws. In a surprising twist, that didn't set up overtime, it just set up the CJ-to-Calvin connection. CJ Williams threw the ball from one baseline to the other, a prayer if ever there was one, but Calvin was there to somehow control it with one hand, turn, and toss up a shot well before time expired.

Scott Wood led all scorers with 20 points and added six assists, while Alex Johnson hit all three of his three-point attempts and dished out seven assists. Richard Howell was just 3-10 from the field but grabbed 13 rebounds, seven at the offensive end. Calvin Leslie scored 12 points on 6-13 shooting and grabbed seven boards.

It was a big win for this team from a confidence perspective and a reminder that they can make the plays necessary to win in crunch time. They've missed opportunities this year, but this was different in that they never had control in the last six or seven minutes.

And now, finally, it starts to get easier. The next six are at home, and NC State could be favored in each of its next eight games.