North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Looks to Get Back on Track against Fairleigh-Dickinson
12/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2002
By Tony Haynes
As disappointed as he was moments after watching his team suffer its first defeat on Tuesday night, NC State men's basketball coach Herb Sendek wasn't feeling any better after viewing the tape of a 69-60 loss to Gonzaga in the Jimmy V Classic. Fortunately, the Wolfpack (5-1) will get a chance to redeem itself when it returns home to the RBC Center for a 2:00 p.m. contest against Fairleigh-Dickinson (4-2) on Saturday.
The game against Gonzaga on Tuesday was eerily similar to a pair of ugly early season losses to Ohio State and Massachusetts last season. Sendek can only hope that his current team can rebound in much the same fashion as last year's squad, which went on to post 23 wins.
"We weren't very good on Tuesday night, in any way, shape or form," Sendek said. "You can't get annihilated on the backboard the way we were and have an offensive performance like we had and feel good about it."
In retrospect, it's amazing that the Pack was even in the game after shooting 26 percent and getting out-rebounded 61-35.
In Fairleigh-Dickinson, NC State will be facing an opponent that couldn't be any more different than Gonzaga. Unlike the big, physical Zags, the Knights of the Northeast Conference employ a perimeter-oriented attack that relies heavily on the three-point shot. Attempting an average of 27 threes per game, Fairleigh-Dickinson has converted on 39 percent of its shots from the arc, a figure that will certainly grab the Wolfpack's attention.
"They really take a lot of threes," Sendek said. "They play a smaller line-up that really tries to spread you. They cause a lot of match-up problems as a result."
The Knights are led by 6-5 senior forward Lionel Bomayako, who averages 13.2 points per game. Matt Hammond, a 6-8 senior, averages 11 points per contest.
NC State's top scorer is sophomore Julius Hodge, who's putting up 17.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Marcus Melvin (15.0), Scooter Sherrill (13.3) and Josh Powell (12.5) are also averaging double figures.
