Pack hits its stride

Balanced attack creates confidence

RALEIGH -- There was no hesitation in Brandon Costner's voice as he proclaimed N.C. State ready for Saturday's season opener at New Orleans.

There's evidence from the box score of Tuesday night's final exhibition to support Costner's claim.

Backup center Tracy Smith dominated in the lane with 14 points and Costner mixed inside and outside scoring for 14 more in an 85-61 defeat of Catawba at Reynolds Coliseum.

Point guard Farnold Degand turned in his best performance since tearing a knee ligament 10 games into last season. He skittered downcourt and penetrated into the lane for a team-high 15 points.

Degand matched his speed with control Tuesday, something he failed to do when he was admittedly "antsy" in N.C. State's first exhibition five days earlier. He was determined not to get out of control again.

"I watched film, stayed after practice," he said. "Just to improve so I could get better from game to game."

Although Degand and Costner improved in the second exhibition, there are plenty of reasons for concern heading into the opener against an opponent that defeated N.C. State in Raleigh last season. With defensive stopper Courtney Fells moved to small forward, the Wolfpack couldn't stop guard Rob Fields of Division II Catawba, the defending South Atlantic Conference champ.

Fields scored a game-high 21 points and displayed mid-range skills that were unequaled by any other player on the court.

N.C. State also committed 16 turnovers against a defense that didn't pressure much. Early in the second half, coach Sidney Lowe called timeout to yell at his players after a lazy outlet pass by Ben McCauley was intercepted and led to a basket by Antonio Houston.

"We didn't have enough energy," Costner said. "We needed to pick it up."

Catawba's players had a lot of spring in their step because they rarely get to play an ACC team. But New Orleans will be similarly motivated Saturday when it reopens its arena, which was damaged extensively by Hurricane Katrina.

Despite N.C. State's imperfections, Lowe said his team played a "solid" game and complimented the defense that held Catawba to 37.9 percent from the field. Costner was similarly optimistic.

"We're playing very well," he said. "We're getting up and down the court. We're moving the ball pretty well. Everybody has the right attitude."

N.C. STATE 85, CATAWBA 61

Catawba: Fields, Rob 8-15 5-7 21; Reid, Dominick 5-12 0-0 14; Rose, Isaac 3-7 0-0 7; Rutherford, Donald 3-11 0-1 6; Williams, Donzell 2-4 0-0 5; Burns, Cliff 2-4 0-0 4; Houston, Antonio 2-11 0-2 4; Magnusson, Finnur 0-2 0-0 0; Adams, Earl 0-0 0-0 0; Sossamon, Matthew 0-0 0-0 0; Shoemaker, Trey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 5-10 61.

N.C. State: Degand, Farnold 7-8 0-0 15; Smith, Tracy 7-10 0-1 14; Costner, Brandon 4-12 4-6 14; Fells, Courtney 3-5 4-4 10; McCauley, Ben 5-10 0-0 10; Horner, Dennis 4-8 0-0 9; Gonzalez, Javier 3-7 0-0 6; Mays, Julius 1-1 0-0 2; Smith, Kendall 1-1 0-0 2; Williams, C.J. 1-4 0-0 2; Harris, Simon 0-0 1-2 1; Ferguson, Trevor 0-2 0-0 0; Greenway, Spencer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-69 9-13 85.

Halftime--N.C. State 43-28. Three-point goals--Catawba 6-26 (Reid 4-8; Rose 1-4; Williams 1-2; Houston 0-4; Magnusson 0-1; Rutherford 0-2; Fields 0-5), N.C. State 4-19 (Costner 2-6; Horner 1-3; Degand 1-1; Gonzalez 0-3; Williams 0-3; Ferguson 0-1; Greenway 0-1; Smith 0-1). Fouled Out--Catawba-Houston, N.C. State-None. Rebounds--Catawba 34 (Rutherford 10), N.C. State 47 (McCauley 6; Costner 6; Harris 6). Assists--Catawba 11 (Fields 4), N.C. State 19 (Costner 5; Gonzalez 5). Total fouls--Catawba 20, N.C. State 16. Technical Fouls--Catawba-None, N.C. State-None. A--5,582