Pack's season ends

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Just when it all seemed to be coming together for N.C. State - the teamwork, the toughness, the second-half offense - it all fell apart.

The sixth-seeded Wolfpack, which had won six of its previous eight games, couldn't score, didn't defend and ended its season with a 72-52 blowout loss to UAB in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Saturday.

In so doing, State (20-16) squandered the opportunity to avenge two regular-season losses to rival North Carolina. Instead, the second-seeded Blazers (25-8) advance to host the fourth-seeded Tar Heels at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Bartow Arena.

"I didn't think it would be like this," Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said after his team shot only 35.8 percent and got pushed around in the lane. "I think these guys have done a great job of playing the right way, and playing hard, and just winning tough ballgames. I didn't see us coming out the way we did."

Lowe worried that injuries to a couple of players - he wouldn't specify who or what - might affect his squad. But he was so shocked by the way the Pack opened the game - with two turnovers, a missed jumper and a general lack of oomph - that he called a quick timeout with his team trailing 6-0.

"UAB did a great job of pressuring in all the positions, and we were just doing everything a little too fast," he said. "We didn't slow down and set solid screens and face up. And I thought also in the post, I thought they beat us up in the post - and I don't mean that in a bad way, I just thought they were very physical."

That didn't change. The Pack got behind by double figures within the first seven minutes, didn't reach double figures itself until 6:31 remained in the first half and managed to shoot only 24 percent before halftime, when it trailed 37-17.

State freshman Scott Wood made his team's first 3-pointer of the game to cut it to 37-21 a minute into the second half, but senior Dennis Horner, who scored 18 of his team-high 23 points in the second half, was the only one who could get anything going on offense. He made 7 of 12 shots, while the rest of his team was 12-for-41.

With 9:22 left, Lowe picked up a technical after forward Tracy Smith got poked in the face, and no whistle blew. The free throws gave UAB a 52-30 lead, and it led by as many as 27 points.

"This was a great team effort, and it feels good for this group of guys to tie the school record in wins with 25," said Blazers coach Mike Davis, whose team shot 51 percent and outrebounded the Pack by five. "... When we play physical, rebound the basketball, get to our spots defensively and rotate well, we're a challenge."

UAB junior Elijah Millsap led all scorers with 27 points. He also pulled down 15 rebounds.

The loss marks an abrupt end to what had been a solid late-season run for the Pack. Not only did N.C. State win three of its last four regular-season games, it won its first two in the ACC tournament to earn an NIT bid.

"It's a sad moment right now; it's my last game with these guys, and I'm proud of the team," Horner said. "We went through a stretch during the middle of the season where we weren't playing too well, but the guys never quit."

UAB 72, N.C. State 52

Percentages: FG .358, FT .550. 3-point goals: 3-11, .273 (Horner 1-1, Mays 1-2, Wood 1-3, Gonzalez 0-1, Degand 0-2, Williams 0-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 1 (Howell). Turnovers: 13 (Gonzalez 3, Degand 2, T.Smith 2, Thomas 2, Mays, Williams, Howell, Horner). Steals: 8 (T.Smith 3, Degand 2, Horner, Wood, Mays). Technical Fouls: Bench.

Percentages: FG .510, FT .667. 3-point goals: 2-7, .286 (Fields 1-1, Drake 1-2, Crawford 0-1, Sanders 0-3). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Crawford 2). Turnovers: 11 (Johnson 5, Drake 2, Millsap 2, Cooper, Sanders). Steals: 8 (Johnson 3, Sanders 2, Millsap, Fields, Cooper). Technical Fouls: None.

Att.-4,096. Officials-Terry Moore, Brent Hampton, Jeb Hartness.