North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Looks to Get Back on Track at BYU
12/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Provo, Utah - NC State traveled an awfully long way to come away empty-handed. With that in mind, the Wolfpack will try to bounce back from its first loss of the season Tuesday night when it meets Brigham Young. Although the Cougars have struggled in a 2-7 start, they generally play well at home and will likely view Tuesday's game as a chance to get their season turned around against a nationally ranked opponent from the ACC. Now 8-1, the Pack, which dropped from 12th to 16th in the new A.P. Top 25, just wants to erase the bitter taste it felt after suffering its first defeat of the season, a 68-64 loss to Washington on Sunday night.
"We came out here to play two games," said Cameron Bennerman, who led NC State with 16 points in Seattle. "We've got another one Tuesday and we're going to do whatever it takes to get a win. Obviously, we can't do anything about Sunday, but I think we're hungry right now and we're preparing to get a good win."
This coast-to-coast journey, which started with the 2,900 mile trip to Seattle, has hardly gone perfectly for the Pack. First there was the loss to the nationally ranked Huskies in a game that could have gone either way. Then to add insult to injury, the Wolfpack's charter flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City after the game was delayed. By the time NC State arrived at its hotel in Provo on Monday morning, it was about 2:30 a.m. Mountain Time.
Still, there's a feeling amongst coaches and team members that Sunday's loss, while disappointing, wasn't as ugly as a few other non-league December defeats previous Wolfpack teams have sustained in recent years.
"I give the guys a lot of credit; we played well [at Washington]," said NC State senior Julius Hodge. "We didn't get the outcome we wanted, so we've got to get back to work on Tuesday night."
One part of NC State's game that continues to stick in coach Herb Sendek's craw is rebounding, more specifically defensive rebounding. After holding the Huskies to just two second chance points on five offensive boards in the first half on Sunday, the Pack allowed Washington to get 13 second chance points after intermission. And although it came away with a victory against Louisiana-Lafayette last Wednesday night, NC State still gave up 19 offensive boards to the smaller Cajuns.
"You've got to box out first, but then you've just got to go get the ball," said Bennerman. "With me being one of the best athletes on the team, coach has really challenged me to go get those defensive rebounds. My rebounding is something I need to get better at doing."
Like Bennerman, Tony Bethel is a guard, yet he was NC State's top rebounder in the Washington game with seven.
Rebound or not, Bennerman continues to be a bright spot for the Wolfpack. His improved shooting is obvious. A 47.5 percent shooter from 3-point range through nine games, the junior from Greensboro is averaging 10.7 points per game to give the Pack some punch off the bench.
Then there's freshman Andrew Brackman. The hustling 6-10 forward from Cincinnati hardly looked out of place in his first college road game on Sunday, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help NC State stay close.
"He's a tremendous competitor; he's a gamer," Sendek said. "He did not flinch, and even when he made a mistake he just bounced right back and battled on the very next play."
Over NC State's last three games, Brackman has knocked down 18 of his last 24 field goal attempts and is shooting 63.6 percent from the floor.
