PHILADELPHIA - Sidney Lowe's first season as N.C. State's coach will be remembered for the Wolfpack's emotionally stirring run in the ACC Tournament that fell just short of a championship.

Then again, there was much to celebrate in the Pack's 63-56 win over Drexel on Tuesday night in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Wolfpack (19-15) shook off an indifferent start that left it 11 points behind. State, seeded sixth in its NIT region, rallied again in the second half just when the third-seeded Dragons (23-9) seemed poised to make a winning late-game surge in the small, stuffy Daskalakis Athletic Center.

And why shouldn't the Pack wilt in the heat? Five games in six days -- plus travel -- will do that to team, won't it?

"Playing four games in a row wears on you, but we weren't going to make any excuses," State center Ben McCauley said after a 16-point, 12-rebound game. "We realized what we have in front of us: a great opportunity to come out and play in the NIT.

"This is a new season. A new tournament. It's a new beginning."

The Pack will face Marist (25-8) in the second round at 9:30 p.m. Friday. The site had not been determined Tuesday night.

Getting out of the first round, out of a claustrophobic 2,500-seat, on-campus arena teeming with energy, was impressive.

The Dragons believed they were slighted by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Their intent was to make the Pack pay for what they felt was a snub.

"We knew they'd come out with a lot of energy," Lowe said. "I told our guys they were coming at us right away and they did. But our guys did a good job of keeping their composure.

"It's not a surprise to me. These kids have been unbelievable this year in their ability to focus in and execute down the stretch in big games and tough situations. They make big shots, big plays, make big stops."

The game was decided on big plays by the Pack and a few bricks by the Dragons at the foul line. Drexel center Frank Elegar, a quick leaper at 6 feet 9 and hard to handle down low, had a game-high 24 points but also missed eight of 12 free throws.

After a free throw by McCauley gave the Pack a 55-54 lead, Brandon Costner supplied perhaps the biggest basket of a hard-fought game, driving the right baseline to muscle in a shot and drawing a foul on Elegar. His three-point play pushed State ahead 58-54 with 1:10 remaining.

"We did a decent job on Brandon," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "He only got nine points, but three were big ones."

A basket by Elegar made it 58-56. But Elegar missed the free throw and McCauley scored with 37.4 seconds remaining.

"If we make some foul shots, we win the game," Flint said.

The Dragons, hitting seven of their first nine shots, bolted to leads of 10-1 and 15-4. But the Pack slowed Drexel's offensive momentum with a 2-3 zone and clawed back to within 28-26 at the half.

Costner, an offensive force in the ACC Tournament with 90 points, was playing with a sore ankle he injured in Sunday's ACC title game against North Carolina. But the Pack got solid games from McCauley, Engin Atsur (18 points) Gavin Grant (10) and Courtney Fells (10) -- and that big shot from Costner.

There were interesting sub-plots. Drexel senior Dominick Mejia signed with NCSU but transferred after his freshman year. State's Grant and Elegar played high school ball at St. Raymond in the Bronx, N.Y.

Costner's father, Tony, was a college teammate of Flint.

But the biggest storyline this game was the Pack down the stretch -- again.

"At a five-minute timeout, we said, 'We've got a five-minute ball game and right now it's all mental,'" Lowe said. "It was 'Are you going to rebound, are you going to block out, are you going to execute?' We said for five minutes, let's focus in and let's play tough. And they went out and did that."

And the Pack still has basketball to play.

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