RALEIGH - N.C. State got an unexpected scare last night but was still able to remain undefeated with a 78-72 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette at the RBC Center.
The Wolfpack suffered through a night of offensive futility and trailed at halftime, but endured and eventually made enough plays to pull out the game in the final 10 minutes.
Freshman Andrew Brackman provided the spark, coming off the bench to score a season-high 20 points. He also had four rebounds and three blocked shots.
The win moved State, ranked 12th in the AP poll, to 8-0 overall, while Louisiana-Lafayette fell to 3-5.
Brackman, a 6-10, 205-pound freshman from Cincinnati, also made several key defensive plays.
His one-handed rebound dunk of a miss by Ilian Evtimov gave State the lead for good at 49-48 with 10:28 remaining, and started a 7-0 spurt that allowed State to take control.
State went on to lead by as many as eight from there.
But Louisiana-Lafayette fought back and got as close as two at 74-72 before Cameron Bennerman's two free throws with 6.9 seconds left pushed the lead back to four, and then Tony Bethel's layup at the buzzer pushed the final margin to six.
Tiras Wade led Louisiana-Lafayette with 37 points, an RBC Center record.
Julius Hodge added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists for State, and Bethel scored 14.
Louisiana-Lafayette led 28-23 at halftime, marking the first time all season the Wolfpack has trailed at the half.
State scored the first eight points of the game, and held the Ragin Cajuns scoreless on their first eight possessions. Louisiana-Lafayette's first points didn't come until 14:10 was left in the first half on a 3-point shot by Ross Mouton.
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By John Delong
JOURNAL REPORTER
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