North Carolina State built a 17-point lead at the half and went on to an easy 74-49 win over South Carolina State at the RBC Center Saturday afternoon.
Center Jason Johnson had 14 points and forward Everett Spencer 10 in the loss for the Bulldogs, who dropped their second in a row to fall to 3-7 on the season. Both Carrio Bennett and Jason Flagler chipped in six points each, and Flagler had six rebounds for Coach Tim Carter’s team.
The Wolfpack, who climbed to 5-3 with the victory, was led by Gavin Grant with 23 points and J.J. Hickson with 18. Both Hickson and Ben McCauley pulled down eight rebounds each for NC State, which enjoyed a 46-35 edge on the boards. The host also had a big edge at the free throw line, making 18 of 30, while the Bulldogs got only 12 opportunities, connecting on nine of the tries. Both teams committed 17 turnovers each.
NC State, ahead 41-24 at the half, began the final stanza with a 19-7 run to build a 29-point 60-31 advantage with just less than 14 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs then stepped up their defensive intensity and went on a 14-2 run to close cut the margin to 17, at 62-45, when Johnson made two free throws with 8:07 remaining. Carter’s team had four opportunities to get even closer but the Bulldogs missed three shots and had a turnover on the next four possessions during a period where they held the Wolfpack scoreless.
However, after a Wolfpack timeout, NC State finally regrouped and scored 10 of the next 14 points to go ahead 72-49 with little over a minute left to regain control of the contest.
SC State’s Carter said he team did little to slow down the Wolfpack, especially inside, except during that 8-10 minute span in the second half when the Bulldogs made their run to try and get back in the contest.
“We made things (scoring) too easy for them,” he said. “We didn’t do a good job of keeping the ball from the interior where they enjoyed a huge advantage. We had that one stretch in the second half after we went to a zone press and dropped by in a 1-2-2 zone and was able to cut into the lead.”
“We wanted to make them eat up more clock,” he continued. “But, you know that old adage -- it’s easy to come back (from a big deficit), but it’s hard to win after falling so far behind. But, all-in-all, we just have to play harder. When the other team is bigger, stronger and more physical, you have to hustle, claw and do those little things just to be able to compete. We did that only briefly in the second half.”
SC State will continue a two-game, four-day road trip Monday when the Bulldogs face UNC-Asheville (NC), Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.