Staff photo by Jason Arthurs

Staff video by Jason Arthurs

N.C. State didn't just lose to Florida State on Tuesday, the program appears to be falling apart at the seams. Again.

Sidney Lowe benched stars Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner for the bulk of the second half. Without its top two scorers, State actually took the lead. When the two were put back in the game, State fell apart.

Lowe called out McCauley and Costner after the loss and talked about "team" issues. These are the same issues that plagued last year's team, which finished with nine straight losses.

Sidney Lowe fired a warning shot across the bow of some of his veteran players after Tuesday's loss to Florida State, his postgame comments leaving little doubt what was said during a lengthy locker-room meeting after the game.

When Brandon Costner (16 minutes) plays less than C.J. Williams (17), Dennis Horner (24) and Johnny Thomas (18), Lowe didn't really need to amplify the message. Nor did he after benching Farnold Degand for the second half and leaving Ben McCauley out as well for much of that half.

But he did anyway.

• First Look

Senior Ben McCauley looked more like Ben McCauley the sophomore Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum.

And that’s a positive sign for N.C. State’s basketball team. After experiencing a demise last season, the 6-9 center/forward was battling on the boards, setting screens, and aggressively posting up, his hands hungry for the ball.

He got it often enough to score a game-high 17 points and help his Red team edge the White 47-44 in a 32-minute intra-squad duel.