North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
St. Augustine's (Exh.)
No. 19 NC State Whips St. Augustine's, 96-58
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - NC State's 19th ranked college basketball team warmed up for the regular season on Tuesday night with a 96-58 exhibition victory over St. Augustine's. Preseason All-American Julius Hodge led five players in double figures with 15 points, while junior guard Tony Bethel tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. And although the win was convincing, the game itself will leave Pack coach Herb Sendek with a bundle of teaching points he can call on before next Wednesday's regular season opener against New Orleans in the BCA Invitational.
To begin with, the Wolfpack stood around while the quick, athletic Falcons hauled down a total of 27 offensive rebounds, 16 of which came in the first half. St. Augustine's also used its quickness to repeatedly breakdown the Wolfpack defense with dribble penetration.
The two, of course, go hand in hand. With Wolfpack defenders constantly in help mode on dribble drives, the Pack became more vulnerable to rebounding breakdowns because players were constantly leaving their men and helping in the lane instead of blocking out.
"The most glaring two things on the defensive end of the floor were our inability to stop penetration at times and secondly, offensive rebounds," Sendek said. "They just annihilated it us on the backboards. There's really no excuse for that. We're really going to have to find a way to get a rebounding mentality and do a better job of not allowing second shots and of course, stopping dribble penetration."
Had it not been for Bethel's eight rebounds from the guard position in the opening half, the Wolfpack's deficit on the boards would have been even more glaring. With two, forward Levi Watkins was the only frontcourt player to have more than one board in the first 20 minutes.
Taking Sendek's disappointment to heart, freshman Andrew Brackman asserted himself after intermission and pulled down seven of his eight rebounds in the second half. And although he finished with just four points, Brackman also ignited some transition opportunities with four blocked shots.
Rookie teammates Gavin Grant and Cedric Simmons also performed well over the last 10 minutes when Sendek gave his starters the rest of the night off. Grant drained 9-of-10 from the free throw line to finish with 13 points, while Simmons brought the crowd to its feet with some thunder slams in an eight-point performance.
"I thought all three of our freshman really did a nice job, especially in the second half," Sendek said. "I thought when they first got in the game in the first half they weren't quite as at ease as they were in the second half. They went out in the second half, really played well and gave us a boost."
NC State also got a boost from redshirt junior Ilian Evtimov, who got his first taste of game action since returning from arthroscopic knee surgery. Evtimov, who returned to practice over the weekend, had four points and three assists in 14 minutes on the floor.
"He has really impressed me all week in practice," said Sendek. "To be able to come back after such an extended layoff and really just be in perfect rhythm and decent conditioning is truly a testament to the type of person he is."
Also reaching double figures for NC State were center Jordan Collins and guard Cameron Bennerman, who had 12 points apiece.
St. Augustine's was led by former Raleigh Enloe star Allen Lovett, who had 18 points.
NC State knocked down 52.5 percent of its field goal attempts for the game after shooting an even 60 percent for the second half. The Falcons were 22-of-79 for 27.8 percent.
