Hokies lose in semifinals

TAMPA, Fla. — Virginia Tech will have to wait another year for its first shot at an ACC championship.

The Hokies will receive an NCAA tournament berth a little bit sooner.

No. 10-seeded N.C. State pulled off its latest upset at the ACC tournament, dropping No. 3 Virginia Tech 72-64 in the semifinals at St. Pete Times Forum.

The upstart Wolfpack (18-14), spurred by Gavin Grant’s 20 points, will meet top-seeded North Carolina (27-6) in today’s final.

Meanwhile, the Hokies (21-11) will await their first NCAA tournament berth since 1996.

“We’re going to go home tomorrow and we’re going to meet and we’re going to watch our name come up on that screen,” coach Seth Greenberg said. “That’s a heck of an accomplishment for a group of guys that no one thought could play in the ACC, Big East or anywhere else. That’s a heck of a statement for our program in four short years to go from the worst program in the Big East to the NCAA tournament.”

Few thought the Wolfpack had much of a chance in this tournament, either. But N.C. State, with its storied history of ACC tournament runs, is in the midst of another one after knocking out Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech on successive days.

Instead of planning for next year, Sidney Lowe will bring his snazzy red jacket and short-handed though scrappy bunch back today for a chance at a surprising NCAA tournament berth.

“We know winning the tournament is the only chance we have of getting into the NCAA tournament,” Grant said. “My first two years I’ve been here I’ve been to the NCAA tournament, and I don’t think I want it any other way.”

It was the third time N.C. State upended Virginia Tech this season, but this one was far closer than the last two.

Still, the Hokies never led in the final 35 minutes and were repelled every time they got close.

Virginia Tech’s best and last chance came when A.D. Vassallo hit a 3-pointer with 7:15 remaining to tie it at 48. But in what would become a demoralizing refrain for the rest of the night, the Wolfpack offset the shaky jump shots that come with tired legs with an admirable consistency at the foul line.

N.C. State hit all six free throws during a 13-4 run capped by Courtney Fells’ 3-pointer with 1:33 left, opening a 61-52 lead the Hokies couldn’t overcome. The Wolfpack were 24-for-28 from the foul line, a contrast to Virginia Tech’s 8-for-19 struggles.

The Hokies twice pulled within three in the final minute, only for Grant to respond with a pair of foul shots. Grant was 11-for-11 at the free throw line, all but one in the second half.

“It seemed like they couldn’t miss from the free throw line,” said Hokies guard Zabian Dowdell, who scored a team-high 15 points. “Usually when guys are knocking down their free throws, it makes it hard as a defender. Obviously we didn’t do a good job of knocking down our free throws or I think the game would have come out different.”

N.C. State managed to squeeze out yet another victory in part because of a sizzling 12-for-18 shooting effort in the first half. Yet point guard Engin Atsur — whose absence for 12 games earlier this season was the root of much of the Wolfpack’s troubles — winced after apparently aggravating his hamstring injury and briefly left, but still played 29 minutes.

The Wolfpack are the second team to win three straight games to reach an ACC final — matching their 1997 counterparts — and have stirred up echoes of the 1983 bunch that won the ACC and NCAA tournaments as a decided underdog.

“What these young men are doing this year, it’s amazing,” said Lowe, who was a point guard on the 1983 team. “In the tournament and this conference, to have the wins we’ve had, theirs would be bigger than ours. Much bigger than ours.”

Greenberg didn’t try to mask his disappointment of missing out on the school’s first trip to the ACC tournament final. But the prospect of the NCAA berth awaiting his team today helped alleviate his glum mood a bit.

“When the sun comes up [today], it’s going to be a good day for Virginia Tech basketball. A really good day,” Greenberg said. “[There’s] 34 at-large bids and we’re going to get one of them and that’s pretty good. Even the brilliants in this room probably didn’t expect that to happen. I’m really proud of our guys.”