North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes: Wolfpack Tries to Stay on the Mark Against Lipscomb
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Raleigh, N.C. It appears the basket is getting a little bigger for NC State. After shooting below 50 percent in its first five games, the Wolfpack (6-1) has finally found a little offensive groove, hitting almost 52 percent of its shots in back-to-back games.
On Saturday, the Pack will try to keep it going when
“The more reps we get and the more we play together, we’re going to play better as a team,” said forward Brandon Costner. “The more we play, the more we’ll grow.”
Meaning a current busy stretch could be just what NC State needs as it moves closer to conference play in January. Wednesday night’s 87-76 victory over
Costner’s 24-point, 17-rebound outburst against ECU was a most encouraging sign for both head coach Sidney Lowe and his basketball team. Scoring inside and out, the redshirt junior had his most productive game since his record tear at the 2007 ACC Tournament. Costner also took over the boards against the Pirates, grabbing 12 of his season-high 17 rebounds after intermission.
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The togetherness on the offensive end that Costner mentioned has also been there the last two outings. In wins over
Of course, not all is perfect right now. Starting wing forward Courtney Fells has missed back-to-back games with an ankle injury and according to Lowe, a timetable for his return is still up in the air.
In Fells’ absence, Costner says everyone will have to do just a little bit more to pick up the slack.
“Everybody needs to step up,” Costner said. “When you have one of the leaders of this team like Courtney out, everyone needs to realize that in order for us to be successful, all of us need to do a little bit more.”
Lipscomb (4-4, and 1-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference) hasn’t played a game since knocking off SIU Edwardsville on Tuesday, December 9.
“Whenever you have that many days to practice, you use it to get away some and recharge your batteries and mind,” said Bisons coach Scott Sanderson. “We’ve been working to develop our bench that hasn’t played as much because we want to give them more opportunities and more individual coaching.”
Lipscomb’s most productive player has been 6-9 center Adnan Hodzic, a 6-9, 245-pound sophomore from Bosnia who averages nearly 12 points and seven rebounds per game. Despite Hodzic’s presence, Sanderson says his team will have some major issues dealing with NC State in the paint.
“The biggest challenge will be their overall size and strength,” he said.
Although the game will not be televised, fans can watch it online live and on-demand on ACCSelect.
