Leslie’s “get it done” stuns Bonnies, 67-65

By Paul Casey Gotham

ROCHESTER, NY — A football play decided it. After more than 39 minutes of basketball plays, it took a high school quarterback calling on his old talents to win the game.

C.J. Williams lofted a full-court pass, and C.J. Leslie made it count at the buzzer as the North Carolina State Wolfpack stunned the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 67-65 in non-conference action at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena.

“That was a heckuva play at the end,” said North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried. “C.J. Williams made a great pass. It’s a hard pass to make that accurate, but it’s also a hard pass to catch coming that length of the floor. I thought Calvin did a nice job of catching it first, and then to have the sense and wherewithal to turn it into a good play.”

The play was one the Wolfpack has run several times in practice, albeit with little success.

“Obviously you got to have a little luck,” the first-year coach continued. “But I felt like we had the right guys in the right spots.”

“We practice it a lot,” said Wolfpack guard Alex Johnson. “I think we maybe completed it two times. I tip my hat off to C.J. Williams. He used to play football. Quarterback pass. That’s Drew Brees right there.”

The play came directly after Eric Mosley tied the score with a free throw. Without a timeout to use, Williams calmly grabbed the ball and stepped out-of-bounds before sending the 94-foot pass. Leslie caught the pass underneath the opposite backboard and managed to get the ball to the rim with a shot that was part hook, part layup.

“A get-it-done shot,” Leslie said of his game-winner. “It felt good leaving my hand.”

The play ended a back-and-forth affair which saw nine ties and ll lead changes.

“I’m really proud of our team,” Gottfried said. “Tonight was a step in the right direction for us. We’ve had some situations where we’ve been close and haven’t found a way to win.”

After leading for much of the second half, the Bonnies fell behind when their leading scorer, Andrew Nicholson, went to the bench with a bloody nose.

Leslie and Wood sparked a 9-0 run. Wood scored twice on nearly carbon copy plays. The 6’6″ forward curled off screens and hit a pair of catch-and-shoot jumpers – the first for three. Leslie beat the Bonnies up the floor twice, and  Johnson led him for easy baskets. The second, a thunderous alley oop dunk, prompted a timeout from the Bonaventure bench.

By the time Nicholson checked back into the game, Bona trailed 55-52.

Mosley responded with a pull up jumper going to his right.

Demetrius Conger drove into the paint, drew contact and finished a pair of free throws to recapture the lead.

“Our guys really fought,” commented St. Bonaventure coach, Mark Schmidt. “It was really competitive.”

NC State switched to a zone late in the game, and the Bonnies struggled with the first possession against the 2-3 getting whistled for a shot clock violation.

Wood connected four times from the charity stripe, and State led 59-56.

The Brown and White responded. Conger hit twice from the line in a one-and-one situation. Matthew Wright stripped Leslie on a drive. Mosley grabbed the loose ball and found Conger ahead of the play. The junior forward fed Nicholson who drew contact cutting down the lane. Two free throws later, and SBU led 60-59.

Wood accounted for the next six State points scoring twice and feeding Williams for a basket.

Wright brought the partisan crowd of 5,802 to its feet when he  nailed a three to tie the score at 63.

“The last play is going to be talked about,” Schmidt continued. “But as I told our team, it’s not just the last play. It’s a lot of possessions in that game. They took 58 shots; we took 54. The last is going to be magnified, but it’s a lot of plays that go on in that game, and if we make one or two, it doesn’t come down to that.”

The Brown and White sprinted to an early 9-0 lead. Da’Quan Cook grabbed a Charlon Kloof 3-point attempt and finished at the rim. Conger took an inside-out pass from Nicholson, went one dribble to his right and nailed a pull up jumper. Wright hit a teardrop from the baseline. Kloof and Cook capped the run with a steal and 2-on-1 break as Kloof finished the layup causing NC State to call a timeout.

With Leslie on the bench with two fouls, Johnson gave the Wolfpack its largest lead.  The 5’10” guard connected three times from long range for a 34-26 advantage.

Mosley led the Bonnies back. The junior transfer drew contact on the perimeter and made good at the line. He followed with a steal and layup in transition. Mosley finished the half with a pullup jumper off a Nicholson ball screen, and the Bonnies led 39-37.

Wood posted a game-high 20 including a perfect eight-of-eight from the line to go with six assists. Leslie added 12, and Richard Howell led all with 13 rebounds.

Johnson dished seven dimes to go with nine points.

Conger and Nicholson paced the Bonnies with 16 apiece. Mosley added 15.

The box score was as even as the game with State getting a 30-24 advantage in the paint while the Bonnies scored 16 off turnovers to nine for the Wolfpack. Both benches scored 17 with State getting 14 second chance points to 10 for Bona.

State improves to 7-4 with the win. The Wolfpack most recently lost to #1Syracuse, 65-60. State also fell at Stanford 76-72.

The Bonnies fall to 5-5. Next up for the Bonnies is St. Francis (Pa.). Friday’s tipoff is 7p.m. at the Reilly Center.