The men’s basketball team traveled to Winston Salem Sunday night and opened conference play with a loss. Snow covered much of the parking lot outside Lawrence Joel Coliseum and the Pack’s offense struggled to provide any warmth of its own, shooting 34 % from field goal range. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons got off to a hot start, shooting 52 % from the field in the first half.

Junior forward Tracy Smith, the Pack’s leading scorer going into the game, led the Pack early, scoring six of his team’s first eight points. But he only scored five more the rest of the way after early foul trouble limited him to nine minutes of playing time in the first half and just 23 total.

Junior point guard Javier Gonzalez led the Pack with 18 points, scoring 15 in the second half. Smith and freshman small forward Scott Wood also finished in double figures, with both scoring 11 points.

Gonzalez said State fell behind early and cited the Deacons 18 offensive rebounds as a reason for the loss.

“They came out with more energy, especially in the first half,” Gonzalez said. “They built a lead and just never gave it back. We gave them too many opportunities on offensive rebounds and that was a big key to the ballgame. I think we could have finished a lot better around the rim.”

N.C. State will travel to Arizona Wednesday night for a game against the Wildcats. Tipoff is slated for 10:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by FSN.