With new faces, NC State cruises against South Carolina Upstate
In his North Carolina State debut, Marcus Hill scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half to help the Wolfpack to a 97-66 victory over USC Upstate, Monday in the opener for both teams in Raleigh, N.C.
Breon Pass also scored 14 points and Louisville transfer Brandon Hunley-Hatfield added 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting for the Wolfpack (1-0), who opened the evening by unveiling a Final Four banner, celebrating the team's surprise run last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Ben Middlebrooks added 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks while Michael O'Connell contributed nine points and six assists as balanced NC State spoiled the debut of USC Upstate coach Marty Richter.
Freshman Mister Dean scored 14 points in his college debut and Karmani Gregory added 13 points to pace the Spartans (0-1).
NC State used its depth, employing 11 players for double-digit minutes, to wear down USC Upstate. The Wolfpack's up-tempo attack produced 55.9 percent shooting from the floor, compared to 33.3 percent for the Spartans.
NC State outscored USC Upstate in transition 36-7 and 27-4 off turnovers. The Wolfpack also ruled the boards 44-37 and outscored USC Upstate in the paint 54-34.
Georgetown transfer Dontrez Styles scored all nine of his points in the first eight minutes to steady the Wolfpack early.
O'Connor made back-to-back 3-pointers during a 15-0 run midway through the first half which put NC State in command.
Freshman Trey Parker also had a 3-pointer during the spree and Huntley-Hatfield added a tip-in and a fast-break slam which capped the run and gave the Wolfpack a 31-14 lead.
Gregory scored nine points in the final 3:20 of the half to keep NC State from running away. His buzzer-beating 3-pointer cut the Wolfpack lead to 50-35 at the break.
Early in the second half, Hill, a transfer from Bowling Green, scored two baskets during a 10-0 run which put the Wolfpack up 64-41 with 15:28 left. From there, the Spartans did not make a serious run at the lead, never whittling the deficit to less than 19 points.
