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Worley's late 3-pointer lifts New Orleans to upset win over N.C. State

Nov 19, 2007 - 3:20 AM By Brian Joura PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - Junior T.J. Worley banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift New Orleans to a 65-63 upset win over No. 22 North Carolina State on Sunday.

The Wolfpack (1-1) took a 63-62 lead when Gavin Grant inbounded the ball to midcourt and took a return pass from J.J. Hickson before driving in for a layup with 8.3 seconds remaining.

The Privateers (2-0) had trailed by seven with under two minutes to play and were 2-of-17 from the arc before Worley's shot.

"We talked before the game about Gardner-Webb beating Kentucky, about how upsets like this can happen," New Orleans coach Joe Pasternack said. "They had to believe in themselves and play defense for 40 minutes and they did."

On the final possession, N.C. State's full-court pass was mishandled and the Wolfpack never got a shot off before time expired.

"We didn't have urgency," Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said. "They kept their thumbs on us and we didn't execute like we should. Our defense let us down because they were running all around us."

After going 12-of-12 in his first collegiate game, Hickson made his first two shots before a miss with under 14 minutes remaining in the first half.

Hickson finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Grant added 20 points for the Wolfpack.

In the first half, N.C. State jumped out to a 13-4 lead thanks to five straight points by Hickson before New Orleans embarked on a 12-0 run over the next 5:35 to take a 16-13 lead.

Point guard Farnold Degand hit a three-point bucket with 2:41 remaining to give the Wolfpack a 25-24 lead. He added a basket right before the half to give State a 30-28 lead at intermission.

But after shooting 50 percent (11-of-22) from the floor in the first half, N.C. State made just 13-of-31 second-half shots.

"It's picking those shots, when to shoot and when not to," Lowe said. "Courtney (Fells) had a few opportunities, but not many. We need him to shoot more, but this game he was busy running around trying to guard (James) Parlow and that's a tough job."

The Wolfpack used a 9-0 run early in the second half to take their largest lead at 41-30 with 15:36 left.

New Orleans answered with a 14-2 run of its own to take a one-point advantage midway through the second half.

"I told our guys that this game means respect," Pasternack said. "This game puts UNO basketball on the basketball map. Our guys played so hard tonight. I told them before the game that no matter the score, don't look at the scoreboard, to just play hard for 40 minutes."

Grant was whistled for a loose-ball foul and Bo McCalebb hit both free throws to give New Orleans a 62-61 lead with 14 seconds to play.

McCalebb finished with 20 points to lead the Privateers, who shot 35 percent (23-of-65) for the game but held a 41-37 edge on the boards, including a 13-6 edge in offensive rebounds.

"All their players were active on the boards and they had 13 rebounds over us," Lowe said. "That hurt us."