With star forward Tracy Smith on the bench with an apparent knee injury coming out of the second half and a 37-29 lead over East Carolina, NC State needed someone to step up in order to pull away from the Pirates. What they got was productivity from everyone as they exploded out of the gates, racing out to a 31 point lead at one point.
State used a 42-10 run to race past East Carolina in the opening round of the Charleston Classic. The Pack will take on the winner of the Charlotte/George Mason game tomorrow night at 8:30 in the semifinals.
The Pack received double-double's out of sophomore forward DeShawn Painter and freshman guard Ryan Harrow- both the first of their careers. Painter had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Harrow scored 11 points and had 10 assists.
Surprisingly quiet in the game was star freshman forward C.J. Leslie. Leslie finished the game with just four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
NC State used its quick transition game to push the pace and score easy baskets in the second half, as guards Harrow and Lorenzo Brown made quick passes to get the forwards easy layups.
Eleven different players scored for the Pack, with five in double-figures (Brown, 16, Scott Wood, 13, Painter, 12, Harrow, 11, and C.J. Williams, 10).
The most significant improvement from State's first game of the season (82-69 win over Tennessee Tech)? Rebounding. The Pack beat the Pirates on the boards 35-30, and controlled the paint most of the game.
State looked dominating in the second half, and will look to carry their momentum from tonight's blowout win into tomorrow's semifinal contest.
