Jayden Taylor posts efficient night as NC State downs Coastal Carolina
Jayden Taylor scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 13 points to lead NC State over Coastal Carolina 82-70 on Monday night in Raleigh.
NC State opened the second half on a 10-0 run after a first-half scare from Coastal. An and-one from Taylor with 18:24 remaining punctuated the run and gave NC State their first double-digit lead of the game.
Dontrez Styles scored 10 points and collected a team-high six rebounds for NC State, while Trey Parker scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Marcus Hill added nine points.
Taylor scored nine of his 22 points in the first four minutes of the second, anchoring what would turn into a 15-5 stretch that put Coastal Carolina on their back foot with over 15 minutes remaining. Taylor outscored Coastal Carolina as a team for the first 4:10 of the second half.
Rasheed Jones led Coastal Carolina in scoring for the third straight game, scoring 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Denzel Hines scored 14 points and added a team-high eight rebounds, while Jordan Battle chipped in 14 points.
Jones' performance kept Coastal Carolina in the game throughout the first half. The JuCo transfer scored 12 points on 4-of-5 from three in the frame, including a long heat-check. The Chanticleers only trailed by two at halftime, trimming NC State's lead to 35-33 as they closed the half on a 6-1 run.
Taylor led NC State with nine points at halftime, shooting 4-of-6 from the field. Huntley-Hatfield scored five of NC State's first seven points as the Wolfpack opened the game on a 7-0 run, finishing the first half with seven points despite his team being unable to build upon the early advantage. Hill also scored seven of his nine points in the first half.
NC State shot 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) from the field for the game but went 0-of-10 from 3-point range. Coastal Carolina shot 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the field, going 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from three and 19-of-20 (95 percent) from the free throw line. Coastal Carolina outrebounded NC State 16-8 in the first half and 33-30 for the game.
