N.C. State Hands Duke First Loss - East Idaho News
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N.C. State Hands Duke First Loss

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Getty S 11213 Leslie?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1358027241717Grant Halverson/Getty Images(RALEIGH, N.C.) — North Carolina State made a big statement on Saturday afternoon.

The 20th-ranked Wolfpack used 25 points from C.J. Leslie to take down top-ranked Duke, handing them their first loss of the season.

N.C. State (14-2) were picked to win the ACC in the preseason, and wanted to back that pick up.

“I thought our guys, they accepted the challenge,” coach Mark Gottfried said. “It’s one of those (games) where it comes to a point where mentally you say, ‘I’m going to get it done’ and they’re not going to go away. … They’re not going to lay down for us. Our guys mentally showed a lot of toughness.”

Duke (15-1) got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Mason Plumlee, but allowed N.C. State to shoot 50 percent from the floor and from three-point range.

“I thought we played our butts off,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our kids played with a lot of heart, their kids played with a lot of heart, and they were a little better than we were.”

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