How many times can MSU lose on a last-second shot?
The answer for this week: twice.
With 8.9 seconds left and down by two points, Mississippi State had the chance to tie the game and send it to overtime after senior guard Barry Stewart got fouled and went to the line to shoot two free throws.
Stansbury said it was the best situation he could hope for at that point.
“I wouldn’t have [anyone] at the line but Barry Stewart,” he said. “He’s just tough enough to go up there and make the shots.”
Sure enough, Stewart made both of his free throws and for a short second it looked like the Bulldogs had a chance.
The next few seconds were probably the fastest of the day for Bulldog fans as North Carolina quickly drove the length of the court. Out of nowhere, it seemed, sophomore guard Larry Drew II threw a high-arcing shot at the basket that went over the outstretched fingers of the NCAA’s all-time leading shot blocker Jarvis Varnado, off the backboard and through the bottom of the net to give UNC the 76-74 victory in the second round of the NIT.
Varnado thought he had it, but said he came up just short of yet another block.
“I did come close to touching it, but he stretched it out a little bit,” he said. “Unbelievable layup by him.”
Varnado said he knew the shot was coming, but said there was just nothing he could do.
“He was coming at me,” he said. “I knew he was gonna take a shot. Give credit to him he made a great layup.”
The layup by Drew nearly doubled his point total on the day, as he only finished with five. Guard Will Graves paced the Tar Heels with 17 points, and he said he thanked God for the points, the win and everything else he could think of.
However, UNC head coach Roy Williams said the players deserve a bit of credit, as well.
“It’s good he’s thanking God,” he said. “But let’s be honest, God’s got a lot more to worry about than jump shots.”
Something Stansbury said he is worried about, in particular, is the state of his seniors – Stewart and Varnado.
“What I hurt for now is the two seniors,” he said. “When you walk in the locker room for the last time with that jersey on it’s a sad feeling.”
Stewart led all scorers in the game with 18 points, and Varnado and sophomore point guard Dee Bost were just behind him with 14 each.
Stewart said he does not know how to explain his feelings on his final game at The Hump.
“Something you can’t describe,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
On the bitter feeling after a loss, Stansbury said it is a feeling every team in the country has to feel at some point, except for two: the NCAA Tournament Champion and the NIT Champion.
Though the NIT was not the first choice for the Dawgs, Stansbury said it did not make them want to win any less.
“We all want more,” he said. “When you get some, you want more. That’s the way it is . The crowd did their part, everybody did their part. We just didn’t finish it.”