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The Court Report: An Analysis By Jim Young

RALEIGH -- Midway through his post-game session with the media, N.C. State forward Gavin Grant interrupted with his own question.

"We are on a six-game winning streak, right?" he said.

Right. The Wolfpack is now 10-3 after a 50-43 victory over Presbyterian College. It's just that the way State played against the Blue Hose made the outcome feel like something less than a victory.

"It wasn't the prettiest win," Grant conceded.

No, it most certainly was not. There was even a smattering of boos from the crowd at the RBC Center when State walked off the floor at halftime trailing 20-17 to a team that came into Saturday with a 1-17 record in its first season at the Division I level. But the Wolfpack coaches and players took a more positive look at the game than perhaps their fans did. To them, it was a win under less than ideal conditions.

"This was a tough ball game," said State coach Sidney Lowe. "This was a tough team to play."

What made the Blue Hose tough was what they didn't do. They steadfastly refused to take a shot without first making countless passes and working off a great deal of the 35-second shot clock. And on defense, Presbyterian went into a sagging 2-3 zone and could not be coaxed out of it. Sure, it made for boring basketball, but that was a problem for the Wolfpack, not the Blue Hose.

"It was a slow game," Grant said. "We couldn't get anything to excite the fans or ourselves."

State also couldn't get the ball down low to its primary scoring option, J.J. Hickson. The 6-foot-9 freshman took four shots and scored a career-low four points, primarily because Presbyterian was obsessed with defending against post feeds to Hickson, even if it meant giving up open jump shots.

The problem for the Wolfpack was that it couldn't make any of those open outside shots in the first half. Well, it actually made one 3-pointer -- in 11 attempts. Just as problematic as the missed shots were the shots that freshman point guard Javi Gonzalez wasn't taking. His reluctance to put the ball up made things that much easier for the Blue Hose defense.

"The first half, they weren't playing me at all," Gonzalez said. "They were just backing off."

At halftime, Lowe urged Gonzalez to start looking for his shot, and Gonzalez took the message to heart. He made two 3-pointers from the top of the key, part of a combined 5-for-7 effort from behind the arc by the Wolfpack in the second half. Those shots cracked open Presbyterian's tight zone and helped State take control of the game.

"I'm proud of our guys, the way they hung in there," Lowe said.

Hanging in there to eke out a victory over Presbyterian is one thing. Lifting that level of play to match the No. 1 team in the nation is something entirely different. Yet that is what State must be able to do in one week's time, when it travels to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina next Saturday.

The Wolfpack might have to play that game without sophomore forward Dennis Horner. He suffered a sprain high on his left ankle in practice and sat out the Presbyterian game.

"We're hoping he's going to be back for the Carolina game," Lowe said. "But we're not sure."

Horner's outside shooting and energy off the bench were clearly missed by State against Presbyterian. The Wolfpack was also plagued by another slow start, a recurring problem this season. If it can't find a way to address those issues before it plays the Tar Heels, State will be in for another game that won't be pretty.

Only this time, it also won't be a victory.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record