Destination articles

former team on Dec. 14, a 99-77 loss.

lou0930

GREENSBORO, N. Under Armour Basketball Shoes Mens .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. The Wolfpack didnt squander it, instead sending Jim Boeheim and No. 11 Syracuse to a quick exit from their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. T.J. Warren scored 28 points while Ralston Turner banked in the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:28 left to help N.C. State upset the Orange 66-63 in Fridays quarterfinals, continuing both the Wolfpacks push for the NCAAs and the Oranges downward late-season trend. The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-12) blew a 10-point second-half lead but came through with two clutch baskets late to hold off the Orange (27-5) in front of a home-state crowd in Greensboro. It was a huge win for N.C. State, which came into the year picked to finish 10th in the league with a young team and instead finished 9-9. That included one-point losses on last-second baskets to Wake Forest and rival North Carolina, as well as one to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last month. "I hope that were a legitimate contender," Gottfried said. "Were not the same team that we were in November and December. When you lose 80 per cent of your scoring from a year ago, its going to take a while to figure yourselves out." Now N.C. State has won four straight heading into Saturdays semifinals against No. 7 Duke, marking the third time in three seasons that N.C. State has reached Saturday at the ACC tournament under Gottfried. This win could help Gottfried also make it 3 for 3 with the NCAAs, too. "I think so," Turner said when asked about whether N.C. State should be in, "but thats not up to me." Warren followed Turners tiebreaking 3 with a jumper to make it 64-61, then hit two free throws with 24.6 seconds left to keep the Wolfpack up three. Syracuse had one wild final possession, missing six shots -- including four hurried 3-pointers from Tyler Ennis, Trevor Cooney and C.J. Fair -- to ensure its first ACC tournament would be a one-and-done stop. "I thought the 3s we were taking, we had a couple of good chances," Ennis said, "but they just didnt fall." Ennis scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime for Syracuse, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country a month ago but has faded down the stretch. The tournaments No. 2 seed had lost four of six coming into Greensboro, though Boeheim has dismissed the suggestion that his team was in a slump. That talk will probably grow louder with another loss -- Syracuse is 2-5 after a 25-0 start -- heading into the NCAA tournament. Syracuse shot 33 per cent Friday, with leading scorer Fair scoring nine points on 3-for-16 shooting. "Im not concerned about our team," Boeheim said. "I think weve played well all year. I think weve struggled shooting, and I think thats pretty well-documented. But in spite of that, we won 27 games, so Im pretty pleased with what these guys have done, and I believe well be a very good tournament team." Warren, the ACCs leading scorer and player of the year, finished 9 for 21 from the field but hit 10 of 12 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds. "I just wanted to find open spots on the floor," Warren said. "Their zone is so spread out that its easy to find little gaps and little separation. Theyre very athletic so youve really got to think quick to get your shots up." Fifth-year senior Jordan Vandenberg added 10 points for N.C. State, which led 28-25 at halftime then shot 52 per cent after halftime. The Wolfpacks win against reigning champion Miami in Thursdays second round set up the rematch with Syracuse, who was still atop the polls when it edged N.C. State 56-55 on Feb. 15. Syracuse won that after the Wolfpack committed a late turnover that led to Fairs winning layup with 6.7 seconds left. There was also a much-discussed call in which officials waved off a basket from Warren while being fouled with 13.6 seconds left because the foul came before the shot with N.C. State up one. This one came down the stretch just like before, but the Wolfpack didnt let this one get away. "Sometimes those kind of things balance out in life," Gottfried said. "We had the tough one earlier in the year where we didnt finish the game. Today, maybe fate was on our side on that last possession." Cheap Under Armour Shoes Mens . Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Under Armour Basketball Shoes For Sale . - Mike Magee converted two penalty kicks in a 10-minute span of the first half and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday. CHICAGO -- With eight wins in their last 11 games, the Toronto Raptors head into 2014 pointed in the right direction. They believe it can be the start of something big. Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 points and the Toronto Raptors mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Chicago Bulls 85-79 on Tuesday night. He made two big free throws to seal the game in the final minute after Toronto had missed three of four from the line down the stretch. Greivis Vasquez hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth to give Toronto (14-15) its first lead of the second half, and the Raptors didnt look back. Vasquez scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, and also had two assists and a blocked shot in the final quarter as Toronto overcame the tenacious Bulls defence. "Greivis came in and changed the game," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "It was a game of toughness and physicality that you have to have when you play if you are going to be in the playoffs. "That is how we will have to play to get there." Luol Deng led Chicago (12-18) with 16 points in his return to the court after missing five games due to a sore left Achilles tendon. Joakim Noah had a game-high 16 rebounds for the Bulls. Toronto shot 37 per cent through the first three quarters, but turned it up in the fourth making 10 of its 17 shots. Meanwhile, the Bulls went 4-for-24 from the field in the fourth quarter, falling to 1-6 at the United Center after starting the season 6-1. "The fourth quarter has got to be your best quarter," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You have to have more intensity, your decision have to be quicker. We have to finish strong, we cant just flip the ball up there." Coming off of season-highs with 32 points and 11 assists Saturday against the Knicks, Kyle Lowry had a modest 12 and six against Chicago. The 27-year-old averaged 22.4 points over his last five games coming in, including 14-for-30 from 3-point range despite dealing with trade rumours. Lowry took an early breather after being whistled for a pair of fouls within the first five minutes. He didnt score until seven minutes into tthe second quarter when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing. Under Armour Basketball Shoes Womens. He connected again from deep on the following possession. "We know we have a chance to do some things and we can take care of business when times get tough," Lowry said. "Pulling out these games is just showing that team camaraderie, the spirit that we have and were all happy for each other. Following his season-high 26-point performance Monday at Memphis, Jimmy Butler poured in 15 for Chicago (12-18). He completed a three-point play to pull the Bulls back within five with two minutes left, but they couldnt complete the comeback. Carlos Boozer missed his first seven shots and didnt find the scoring column until midway through the third quarter. Boozer, Noah and Kirk Hinrich combined to go 4-for-27 from the field. "We had the lead, and we didnt play as tough as we needed to with the lead," Thibodeau said. "We have to take a hard look at that." Deng was limited, playing 33 minutes. He averages just over 38 minutes per game. He acknowledged that he may be limited for a while longer. "I got into the game slowly," he said. "In the fourth quarter, I tried to be a little more aggressive and force it a little bit. I knew coming back, I was going to feel it anyway, but nothing too crazy, nothing too bad. Im happy with how it felt." Taj Gibson was the only player in double-figures when Chicago took a 42-36 lead into halftime. He finished with 12 points - two in the second half. Mike Dunleavy added 13 for Chicago, which had won three of its last four. Toronto has won two of the three meetings this season, the road team coming out on top each time. Notes: Bulls G D.J. Augustin, who was released by the Raptors on December 9, had six points and three assists on 3-of-4 shooting. Augustin shot just 1 for 7 from the floor against his former team on Dec. 14, a 99-77 loss. . Raptors F Amir Johnson was taken out in the second quarter due to a right knee injury, but returned minutes later after going to the locker room for treatment. He finished with nine points and six rebounds. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '