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No. 16 N.C. State Holds off Purdue, 60-53
11/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - It wasn't pretty, nor was it easy. But it may very well have been exactly what NC State needed. After cruising to lopsided victories in each of its first four games, the 16th ranked Wolfpack found itself locked up in a good old-fashioned street fight with Purdue Monday night in the first game of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In the end, the Pack found a way to grind out a 60-53 victory on a night when its shots weren't falling. Getting 22 points from preseason All-America Julius Hodge, 12 from Ilian Evtimov and 11 from Cameron Bennerman, NC State improved to 5-0, while also giving the ACC an early 1-0 edge in the challenge.
"It's real tough when the shots aren't going and things aren't going the way you want offensively," said Hodge, who also added eight rebounds and five assists. "That's when you have to have discipline. Coach Sendek stresses character and for us to play hard. We did that, and towards the end of the game, we made defensive stops that led us to a victory."
The NC State team that had blistered the chords to the tune of 57 percent shooting through its four games, often looked like the gang that couldn't shoot straight on Wednesday. Hitting just 33 percent overall (21-of-63) and knocking down only 8-of-29 from 3-point range against the Boilermakers, the Wolfpack earned this one on the defensive end of the court.
While holding Purdue to just 33.3 percent from the field, the Pack managed to produce some offense with its defense, getting 27 points off of 21 Purdue turnovers. Eight of those turnovers were committed by big man Matt Kiefer.
"We had such poor passing judgment whenever we needed a big basket or needed a good delivery around the basket," said Boilermakers coach Gene Keady. "One guy had eight turnovers. You can't win and do that."
The Boilermakers on the other hand had only 14 points off of 11 NC State turnovers.
"It was a really good experience for our team tonight," Sendek said. "Unfortunately, there are going to be nights when we don't shoot as well as we did the first four games. Tonight was one of those games. Yet our guys still found a way to stay with it; they persevered and continued to grind it out. Our defense was often our best offense tonight. Good teams find a way to win in different ways. Not every game is going to go the way you script it or ideally want it to go."
Sendek could tell early on that this one probably wasn't going to go the way he had hoped or had scripted. Getting open looks against Purdue's collapsing defense, the Wolfpack missed its first eight 3-point attempts before Bennerman finally ended the drought with a long bomb that gave NC State a 13-10 lead with 11:40 remaining in the first half.
"They definitely kept it tight in there and had some big bodies," Hodge said of Purdue's sagging defensive strategy. "Coach told us that we were going to have to hit the outside shot or win it on the defensive end."
And that's what happened.
Up by as many as 13 in the first half, NC State watched Purdue climb back in it on the strength of some key buckets by point guard Brandon McKnight. A 13-4 run over the last six minutes of the opening frame allowed the Boilermakers to move to within 27-24 at the half.
The second frame started much like the first with the Wolfpack missing open 3s from the perimeter.
That's when the Pack turned to its defense to create some offense. A Jordan Collins block led to a Hodge layup on the other end that put NC State ahead, 29-24. Hodge then got another easy one after a Collins deflection that became a turnover. Tony Bethel then followed his own miss inside to end a 6-0 run that left the Wolfpack in front 33-24 with 17:22 remaining.
But NC State was never able to put the feisty Boilermakers away. Bennerman nailed a 3 at the 11:43 mark to make it 46-35, Wolfpack. The junior from Greensboro connected again a few minutes later to give the Pack a 10-point edge with 8:48 remaining.
Seemingly in control down the stretch, NC State moved in front 57-46 on a Hodge layup with 2:51 remaining. That's when things turned a little dramatic. Following a pair of free throws by forward Carl Landry, who had a team-high 18 points, Purdue got within six on a 3-point shot by Kiefer with 1:34 left.
Then, following a miss by Bethel on the front end of a one and one, McKnight drove for a layup to cut the Pack's lead down to 57-53 with 1:11 showing on the clock.
But that's when Hodge stopped the bleeding with a couple of clutch free throws, followed by a few key stops on the defensive end to seal it.
"It was definitely an ACC caliber game," Hodge said. "Purdue played really great defense. We had to buckle down on defense ourselves; get stops towards the end of the game and make free throws down the stretch. We did that and we won the game."
And while Sendek would have preferred to see a higher shooting percentage, he was pleased with the way his team had overcome a cold night from the field.
"You learn a lot about yourself in a game like this," Sendek said. "We can now go back, watch the tape and make some key teaching points."
