North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Stetson
N.C. State Overpowers Stetson 91-61
11/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Ilian Evtimov scored 20 points, Gavin Grant added 13 points and nine assists and North Carolina State began life without Julius Hodge with a 91-61 victory over Stetson on Friday night in the Hispanic College Fund Classic.
Engin Atsur finished with 17 points for the Wolfpack, who played without senior guard Cameron Bennerman. He sat out for undisclosed reasons, but against the overmatched Hatters, he was hardly missed in the opener for both teams.
N.C. State shot 72 percent to take a 26-point lead at the break, then withstood a brief rally in the second half to win easily. Stetson pulled within 54-39 on consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Register, and the margin still was 18 a few minutes later before the Wolfpack pulled away again.
Cedric Simmons made a hook before Evtimov, Grant and Atsur all had layups, then after Chief Kickingstallionsims briefly stopped the run with a jumper, Atsur swished a 3. The brilliant stretch for N.C. State concluded with Andrew Brackman's emphatic dunk off a nifty assist from Grant to make it 74-45, forcing a timeout by the Hatters.
It didn't help. The lead was 32 before Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek pulled most of his starters.
Register led Stetson with 19 points, and teammate Will Holloman added 12.
Even with Bennerman on the bench, Sendek went nine-deep in the first half, with freshmen Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells all getting quality time.
They certainly were needed, too. Hodge completed a stellar four years as only the third player in Atlantic Coast Conference history with more than 2,000 points, 400 assists and 700 rebounds, helping N.C. State reach the NCAA tournament in each season.
To stretch that streak to five, Sendek is going to need contributions from a nice mixture of veterans and underclassmen. Everyone got involved in the first half.
Stetson led three times in the opening minutes, and two free throws by E.J. Gordon made it 8-7 before the Wolfpack took over.
Tony Bethel, hobbled in the preseason with lingering groin injury, connected from behind the 3-point arc on consecutive possessions, and Atsur added one of his own a short time later. N.C. State went on to hit 13 shots in a row during a 33-6 run, with Grant finishing it off with a jumper and a 40-14 advantage.
Soon after halftime, the Hatters made three 3s in a span of 60 seconds to cut it to 15, but the Wolfpack quickly restored order.
