North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Columbia
Bennerman, Atsur Rescue Pack in 84-74 win Over Columbia
12/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2004
By Tony Haynes
New York - In Julius Hodge's much celebrated return to his hometown, it was Greensboro's Cameron Bennerman and Turkey's Engin Atsur who proved to be the headliners in NC State's hard-earned 84-74 victory over pesky Columbia Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Coming through when Hodge was on the bench with four fouls, Bennerman tallied a career-high 24 points, and Atsur added 17 - all coming in the second half - as the Wolfpack ran its season mark to 10-1. The Pack will now play in the title game of the annual Holiday Festival against St. John's Thursday night at 8:30
With 12:55 left in Tuesday's contest, NC State appeared to be in trouble. After a Matt Land drive and layup had given the Lions a 52-50 lead, the Wolfpack's situation became even more tenuous when Hodge picked his fourth foul on a drive to the basket.
At that moment, the gathering crowd sensed an upset in the works.
But in the arena that has hosted so many famous sporting events over the years, including the first of three heavyweight bouts between Ali and Frazier, NC State answered the bell. It all started with an Atsur 3-pointer from the left hand corner to put the Pack up 53-52. And by the time Hodge returned to the floor with 4:30 remaining, his teammates had outscored the Lions 21-7 to grab a 73-59 advantage.
And even though Hodge was saddled with foul trouble for much of the second half, he still was able to muster 22 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes. But it was during his absence on the bench that Atsur and Bennerman came alive, scoring 12 points between them.
Hodge's foul trouble wasn't the only problem confronting NC State on Tuesday. Slowed by the flu bug, starting point guard Tony Bethel gutted out 19 minutes and was held scoreless. Forward Levi Watkins missed the entire second and garnered only four minutes total because of a bruise sustained earlier in the day during the team's shoot-around.
"Our guys really put in a gritty performance in the second half," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "We really had some adversity tonight. We were in a position where we had not found ourselves in at all this year and obviously the entire Garden was pulling for Columbia, which was the underdog. Cameron Bennerman and Engin Atsur really rose to the challenge for us by making some 3-point shots. Our defense there for a stretch really toughened up, although we gave up way too many 3s and allowed 54 percent for the game."
Oh yea, Columbia also had something to do with the adversity NC State faced. Coming off a game in which they had shot just 19 percent in a loss to Hofstra, the Lions got their shooting eye back in a big way on Tuesday, hitting 10-of-18 from the arc. Columbia's barrage was led by active guard Jeremiah Boswell, who nailed 4-of-5 3s and scored a team-high 23 points. The Lions also got 16 points from leading scorer Matt Preston.
Often spreading the floor with five players who could all shoot and handle the ball, Columbia gave the Wolfpack fits by driving and kicking for open shots. The Lions also hurt the Pack with some 3s in transition.
"They did a good job of spacing the court," Sendek said. "They were really penetrating against us and we did not do a good job of staying in gaps, showing early help and making a quick recovery. They just really took it to us quite frankly."
And every time NC State tried to build a working margin, the Lions would always seem to hit a big 3-pointer to get back in the game. Up 35-23 with just over four minutes to play in the opening half, the Wolfpack was seemingly on the verge of running away and hiding. But that's when Boswell stepped up, scoring six straight points in an 8-0 end of half run that pulled the Lions within just four points (35-31) at the break. Columbia held leads in the second half on five separate occasions, with the last lead coming, ironically enough, just before Hodge was whistled for his fourth foul.
"I thought our guys were committed and capable of winning this game," said Columbia coach Joe Jones. "NC State is a terrific team. They move the ball well and they have a terrific player in Julius Hodge. Herb is a terrific coach. That is not just a statement, it is the truth. We knew we had our hands full, but we were up to the task."
Bennerman, however, had other ideas. The junior guard should have known it was going to be a good night when he generated the most bizarre play of the game. Trying to lob the ball to Hodge underneath, Bennerman's pass turned into a shot, going in for a 3-point basket.
"I wasn't going to throw it at first, but he was so open that I knew I had to throw it," Bennerman said. "I threw it and it went right in the goal."
Just like everything else that seemed to be going in for Bennerman in his first ever game at a place that bills itself as the most famous arena in the world.
"I was just trying soak up every moment that I possibly could," said Bennerman, who was 8-for-12 from the floor. "You never know if you'll ever be able to come here again."
Forward Ilian Evtimov also stepped up his game up on Tuesday night, scoring 11 points to go along with five assists. NC State shot 60 percent in the second half and finished up at 49.1 percent for the game. The Wolfpack also scored 24 points off of 24 Columbia turnovers.
