RALEIGH -- Wolfpack senior guard Clifford Crawford nailed a pair of key three pointers and center Marcus Melvin drained nine-of-10 clutch free throws as the N.C. State Wolfpack snuck away from the men's basketball team in the waning minutes, winning 80-71 last night at the RBC Center in Raleigh.
The loss marked the first time since November of 1999 that the Blue Devils (12-2, 3-2 in the ACC) lost back-to-back games and the first time since 1997 Duke dropped back-to-back conference meetings.
The win was also noteworthy for the Wolfpack (10-4, 3-1), who beat Duke for the first time since dropping the Blue Devils in the opening round of the ACC Tournament in 1997.
"On a night when you can certainly say a lot about a lot of individual players I think one word is best, and that is 'team,'" N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek said. "Tonight was team, team, team.... Anytime you put it together like they did tonight, it puts an accent on 'team.'"
With 7:20 remaining and the Pack holding a slim 54-53 margin, Wolfpack sophomore Julius Hodge grabbed an offensive rebound off a Scooter Sherrill jumper that was blocked by Blue Devil freshman Shelden Williams.
Hodge then kicked the ball out to a wide open Crawford on the wing, who drained the three to give the Pack a four point edge.
Crawford came through again for the Wolfpack when the Blue Devils were knocking with about four minutes left. After stealing the ball from Duke forward Nick Horvath, Crawford, after letting the offense set, took a pass from Sherrill and swished another baseline trey, giving the Wolfpack a 64-58 lead with 4:05 remaining.
"One of the keys to the win was the play of Crawford," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He went 4-for-5 from three point range, and they seemed always big. In pressure situations he either increased the lead or got his team coming back but he played like a real veteran. My hat goes off to him."
The Wolfpack played most of the rest of the game from the charity stripe, with Melvin sinking eight straight. Hodge then hit a pair before Melvin, a 73 percent free throw shooter, appeared again, going 1-for-2 and giving N.C. State a 77-69 lead.
"They did a great job of making plays and knocking down shots," Blue Devils captain Chris Duhon said. "It happens. That's the game of basketball - it's a tricky game."
Duke started the game knocking down most of its shots and taking a 7-0 lead that mushroomed to 17-7 against a weak zone defense by N.C. State. Sendek then switched up his team's play and N.C. State matched Blue Devil threes before slowly crawling within one halfway through the first act.
The teams then continued their sharp shooting before getting into a hackfest with about two minutes remaining. The Wolfpack then started the second half by going on a quick 8-1 run on the heels of Horvath's fourth foul.
"We came to play today but we didn't play as smart as we could have," Horvath said. "Things didn't go our way, and we know that next time we need to come out and play even harder and more together. We're going to come out on top."
The Blue Devils were led by J.J. Redick who had 24 points - 20 of which came in the first half. Redick, who injured his foot late in the game, shot 4-for-5 from behind the arc in the first 20, but missed all four of his attempts in the second.
The Blue Devils now face the unfamiliar position of having to fight back to the top of the ACC standings - a conference they have dominated over the last five years.
Duke will get its next chance for a conference win when it faces Georgia Tech Saturday at noon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"State was good," Krzyzewski said. "Herb did a great job with his team. Hopefully we can rebound from here and get going for Saturday."
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