North Carolina State shot 53 percent from the field, including knocking down eight 3-pointers, while building a 24-point halftime advantage on the way to an 82-63 men’s basketball victory over the University of Maine at PNC Arena on Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (4-0) of the Atlantic Coast Conference wound up shooting 45 percent overall (30-for-67) and made 11 3-pointers. The hosts scored 27 points as the result of 18 turnovers by the Black Bears (0-4) and came away with a 39-24 rebounding advantage.
Torin Dorn headed a balanced offensive effort by North Carolina State with 15 points and also provided five rebounds, four steals, two assists and a blocked shot in 19 minutes. C.J. Bryce netted 14 points with eight rebounds and four assists, while Markell Johnson finished with 13 points and five assists.
The Wolfpack registered assists on 21 of their 30 field goals.
Junior forward Andrew Fleming of Bangor paced UMaine with a game-high 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting and freshman Terion Moss of Portland posted 13 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Sergio El Darwich scored 11 points to go with a team-best five rebounds and four assists and Isaiah White chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds for the Black Bears, who shot 55 percent overall (26-for-47), including 64 percent in the second half.
UMaine went only 2-for-14 from the 3-point arc and missed nine of 18 free throws.
N.C. State asserted itself from the opening tip, outscoring UMaine 15-0 during the first five minutes. Johnson and Bryce each hit a 3-pointer, Wyatt Walker made a layup and Devon Daniels scored off a Walker steal to make it 10-zip only 2:02 into the contest.
Dorin buried a 3-pointer and D.J. Funderburk dunked off a Johnson assist to give the Wolfpack a 15-0 lead.
Fleming broke the scoring ice for UMaine with a basket from the paint off a White steal and an assist from El Darwich. The Black Bears later crept within eight (19-11) on a Moss steal and layup at the 11:39 mark, but N.C. State embarked on a 25-7 scoring run to extend its lead to 44-18 with 3:08 remaining in the half.
The Wolfpack led by as many as 27 points (76-49) late in the second half but UMaine outscored the hosts 39-34 after intermission.
UMaine plays at the University of North Texas in Denton at 8 p.m. Tuesday in its second game of the Wolfpack Classic.