North Carolina State University Athletics
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BYU
No. 16 North Carolina St. Downs BYU, 72-61
12/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2004
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Julius Hodge scored 22 points and Tony Bethel added 15 as No. 16 North Carolina State bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 72-61 victory over Brigham Young on Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (9-1) lost 68-64 at No. 12 Washington on Sunday.
BYU (2-8) drew within 66-57 with 2:11 to play, but Hodge made four free throws over the final 2 minutes to seal the win.
North Carolina State dominated inside but was just 5-of-28 from 3-point range.
Mike Hall scored 18 points and Jared Jensen had 14 for the Cougars, who trailed by as many as 24 points before getting within nine.
The Wolfpack missed their first eight 3-point attempts in the second half and BYU took advantage of the long rebounds for easy opportunities on the other end. Hall's fast-break basket closed the gap to 50-39 with 11:12 remaining.
The Wolfpack were the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to play BYU on its home court. The Cougars also had the misfortune of playing No. 4 North Carolina after its only loss of the season, falling 86-50 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational last month.
The Wolfpack scored the first nine points of the game and by the time the Cougars made their second field goal, BYU had four turnovers. Hodge made his first five shots and pushed North Carolina State's lead to 17-5 6 minutes into the game.
Hall's 3-pointer drew BYU within 26-16 but Andrew Brackman, who had 12 points, sparked a 14-0 run late in the first half and the Wolfpack led 40-18 at halftime.
