No. 6 North Carolina State 97, Miami (Ohio) 59: Richard Howell recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Rodney Purvis added 16 points as the sixth-ranked Wolfpack cruised to victory in the season opener for both teams.
Howell, who connected on his first five shots from the field, scored eight of his 12 first-half points during a pivotal 14-4 run to give North Carolina State (1-0) a 41-22 lead at halftime.
Lorenzo Brown had 15 points and a team-high seven assists and ACC preseason player of the year C.J. Leslie added 11 points as the Wolfpack outscored the RedHawks 31-17 to start the second half.
Ten players for North Carolina State found the scoresheet as the Wolfpack shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field.
RedHawks guard Allen Roberts returned after missing all of last season with a knee injury. He scored a team-high 16 points despite hitting on just 4-of-11 shots for Miami (0-1) in John Cooper's debut as head coach.GAME NOTEBOOK: The Wolfpack connected on 17 of 26 first-half shots for a sizzling 65.4 percent. Conversely, the RedHawks shot 7-of-32 (21.9 percent). ... N.C. State's ranking is the program's best since also seizing sixth in December 1983. ... The RedHawks have dropped 21 consecutive games to ranked opponents.
Miami (OH) | N.C. State | |
Allen Roberts 16 | Scoring | Richard Howell 16 |
Geovonie McKnight 3 | Assists | Lorenzo Brown 7 |
Drew McGhee 6 | Rebounds | Richard Howell 10 |
Allen Roberts 6 | Free Throws Made | Lorenzo Brown 7 |
Reggie Johnson 2 | Steals | Richard Howell 2 |
Jon Harris 1 | Blocks | C.J. Leslie 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami (OH) | 59 | 29.0 | 7-26 | 12-19 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
N.C. State | 97 | 61.4 | 8-19 | 19-27 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 6 | 11 |