Soft Pretzel Logic

FINAL: N.C. State wins, 63-56. So much for my prognostication skills... and I have to say, Elegar missing all those free throws down the stretch was just a killer. He finished the night 4-for-12 from the line, including 3-for-10 in the second half. Thanks for reading along, and I'll move on to NCAA Tournament previews tomorrow.

0:01 2nd: After two missed Drexel threes -- one by Mejia and one by Hawthorne -- Mason fouls Atsür, and that's his fifth. Atsür misses the first free throw and makes the second as the Drexel fans start filing out.

0:21.8 2nd: After Mejia's somewhat desperate long jumper goes off the back iron, Mason fouls Atsür on the rebound. He makes the first but not the second to give the Wolfpack a 61-56 lead, and this one's pretty well over now. Which is too bad, because I had Drexel winning the NIT, and now I look like an idiot.

0:58.5 2nd: A ballsy inlet pass from Oveneke at the top of the arc to Elegar underneath, who gets the layup and is hacked on the way by Grant. The free throw, which has everyone in the place quite nervous, is no good. Elegar is now 4-for-12 from the line tonight. N.C. State leads 58-56.

1:10 2nd: Oh, what a move by Costner. Trapped on the baseline, he manages to spin around Elegar without going out of bounds, then goes up for the layup almost from behind the backboard, gets it to go in off the glass and is fouled by Elegar. The N.C. State fans go beserk. The free throw is good and it's now 58-54 Wolfpack

2:13 2nd: McCauley makes the first of two free throws to give N.C. State a 55-54 lead, then airballs the second one -- and by quite some distance. Wow.

2:52 2nd: Crawford fouls out for some contact along the baseline. No protest from the Drexel fans, who knew it was the right call. But that's a big loss for the Dragons, who lead 54-52. Randy Oveneke replaces him. Atsür makes two free throws to tie it at 54.

2:56 2nd: Make it 22 for Elegar as he makes both free throws. Palpable relief in the stands.

3:10 2nd: Atsür with an open lane to the basket drives for the layup and ties the game at 52. Atsur has 11. McCauley is N.C. State's leading scorer with 13, while Elegar leads Drexel with 20.

3:36 2nd: Elegar misses two free throws, but N.C. State can't control the rebound and it's out of bounds to Drexel. 52-50 Dragons.

3:45 2nd: McCauley called for his fourth foul. Media timeout with Drexel up 52-50.

4:02 2nd: Atsür misses a three that would have given N.C. State a 53-52 lead.

5:34 2nd: Ear-splitting three by Mejia makes it 52-47 Drexel.

6:31 2nd: Mason knocks Atsür over and is called for his third foul. Media timeout with Drexel still up 49-45. The Drexel students unfurl a fantastic rollout: "Next on SportsCenter: NCAA Fires Walters." The DAC Pack gives it a standing ovation. That might be the first time the Penn and Drexel fans have ever agreed about anything.

6:49 2nd: Big three by Hawthorne as the crowd roars its approval. 49-45 Drexel.

7:27 2nd: After swatting away a layup by McCauley, Frank "The Tank" Elegar (as the DAC Pack calls him) hits a hook shot at the other end to make it 46-43. Grant answers with a layup to make it 46-45.

8:14 2nd: Elegar with a nice spin and layup to make it 44-43 Drexel. Great back-and-forth stuff here.

9:27 2nd: Gavin Grant steals the ball, races down the court and pulls a sweet spin move for a layup to give N.C. State a 43-42 lead.

10:25 2nd: Mejia hits a three to make it 41-40 and wake the crowd up. Then Mason steals it from Atsur and takes it the other way for a layup to give Drexel a 42-41 lead! Then at the other end, Crawford is called for a somewhat questionable loose ball foul. The Drexel fans don't like it one bit, and you might even be able to hear what they're chanting without my telling you. Crawford now has four fouls.

11:46 2nd: Media timeout. It's 41-35 N.C. State, thanks to a three by Courtney Fells with 12:01 on the clock.

12:45 2nd: Gavin Grant puts back his own miss to give the Wolfpack a 38-35 lead. There might have been a charge on his first attempt. Bruiser Flint calls timeout.

I see I have a comment from a reader in Cary, N.C., asking how many State fans there are in the house. Well, the gym here at the Daskalakis Athletic Center seats 2,500. So I'd say there are maybe 350 or so Wolfpack rooters in here. Maybe 400. It's a little hard to tell, because other than one big section behind the N.C. State bench, they are a bit scattered.

Regardless, I'm quite happy to have readers in the Tar Heel state (apologies). I went to summer camp in Arapahoe, N.C. for seven years, so the state definitely has a place in my heart. And I survived Hurricane Bertha in the gym at Apex High School, which is quite close to Cary. I might still have the t-shirt about it somewhere.

13:20 2nd: McCauley in the paint takes a real nice pass from Nieman and hits a hook shot to give N.C. State its first lead of the night, 36-35.

13:56 2nd: Gutsy drive to the baket by Atsür to tie the game at 34-all. At the other end, Elegar goes up and is fouled by McCauley. It's McCauley's second foul. Elegar misses the first free throw and makes the second. 35-34 Drexel.

14:27 2nd: Crawford whistled for his third foul, an over-the-back. That could be a problem.

15:05 2nd: Charge on Rodgers. Yes, we had a media timeout a moment ago, and unfortunately the blog server is running slowly or else I would have written something during it.

16:16 2nd: Elegar with a steal that bounecs to Tramayne Hawthorne for Drexel. Fells loses his balance, falls on Hawthorne and is called for the foul.

17:11 2nd: Elegar with a slam to make it 34-29. Then Atsür with a three to make it 34-32.

19:00 2nd: With Brandon Costner at the line, here are some halftime stats. Drexel shot 12-for-29 from the field and 2-for-11 from three; N.C. State shot 11-for-24 from the field and 3-for-8 from three. Drexel had a slight rebounding edge, 15-14, including five offensive boards. The Dragons recorded eight assists, four turnovers, one block and five steals. The Wolfpack recorded six assists, seven turnovers, two blocks and two steals. Drexel had 30 possessions, N.C. State had 29.

19:18 2nd: Rodgers opens the second half with a jumper. 30-26 Drexel. I have to say, it is seriously hot in here tonight. Even more so than usual. Maybe hotter than the Palestra.

0:04.4 1st: Mejia tries to drive for a layup and Ben McCauley swats the ball into the student section behind the basket. On the inbounds pass, Chaz Crawford ends up having to take the buzzer-beating shot, and his long two clangs off the front rim. 28-26 Drexel at the half.

0:52 1st: Frank Elegar gets whistled for his first foul. It's an offensvie foul and the fans don't like it. Atsür hits a long two on the ensuing possession to make it 28-26. At 0:29.5 on the clock, Bruiser Flint calls timeout. The Drexel fans are chanting "Tar Heel rejects" at the N.C. State players. Maybe, but State does have the largest enrollment and alumni base of the three Triangle schools.

1:20 1st: After N.C. State cuts Drexel's lead to one, Mejia hits a jump shot three to make it 28-24. A real nice shot. 3:30: Elegar beats the shot clock with a hook shot that bounces in off the back of the rim. Ben McCauley replies at the other end with a hook of his own. 24-22 Drexel.

3:34 1st: Media timeout with the Dragons still up 22-20. A little more on Wolfpack forward Brandon Costner's dad, Tony, courtesty of veteran AP college hoops scribe Jack Scheuer: Tony holds the all-time single-game scoring record for St. Joe's. He graduated from there in 1983.

4:02 1st: Atsür hits another three to make it 22-20 Drexel.

5:05 1st: Scott Rodgers brings the home fans back to life with a very emphatic breakaway slam. Timeout N.C. State with Drexel up 22-18.

6:37 1st: State's best player, Engin Atsür, hits a three to make it 20-18. Now the N.C. State fans are on their feet.

7:43 1st: A foul is called on N.C. State's Courtney Fells, and coach Sidney Lowe isn't happy about it. I wish Lowe was wearing that red blazer he's worn for the Wolfpack's big games in recent weeks, but alas, I've been told he did not bring it on the trip.

10:08 1st: Media timeout, and it's 19-13 Drexel. You can find statistical scouting reports for the two teams at the bottom of the post. I'll add individuals of note in a bit.

13:17 1st: Costner scores to make it 15-10, as N.C. State starts to come to life.

15:14 1st: Media timeout with Drexel up 15-4. The DAC Pack unfurls a two-banner rollout: "Can't spell snubbed without D.U.!"

15:30 1st: Mejia hits a three, then Crawford steals the ball, takes it the other way, and fakes out Brandon Costner to hit the layup. Costner's father, Tony Costner, played for St. Joe's.

16:04 1st: Courtney Fells drills a 3 from just left of the top of the arc. 10-4 Drexel.

16:49 1st: Mejia drives to the basket for a reverse layup. 10-1 Drexel, and N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe calls time. The place is going crazy, and a few of the DAC Pack are waving their arms at the Wolfpack players à la the Cameron Crazies.

17:25 1st: After a foul on Dominick Mejia, N.C. State's Courtney Fells misses a free throw. The place roars to try to get him to miss the second, but Fells cooly makes it. 6-2 Drexel.

19:26 1st: Crawford puts back Dominick Mejia's missed three to make it 4-0 Drexel in a hurry.

19:50 1st: Elegar brings the house down ten seconds in with a ferocious slam dunk to give Drexel the early lead.

N.C. State

F 33 Brandon Costner
F 11 Gavin Grant
C 34 Ben McCauley
G 4 Courtney Fells
G 14 Engin Atsür

Drexel

F 20 Chaz Crawford
C 15 Frank Elegar
G 3 Scott Rodgers
G 23 Dominick Mejia
G 5 Bashir Mason

Scouting reports: