North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Fairleigh Dickinson
Wolfpack Downs Fairleigh Dickinson, 77-67
11/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Lorenzo Brown scored 13 points to help North Carolina State defeat Fairleigh Dickinson 77-67 on Saturday.
Scott Wood scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Wolfpack (4-1), who made six of their first seven 3-point attempts after halftime. DeShawn Painter tied a career high with 12 points for N.C. State.
Wood made four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half, including three in a four-possession span to douse a rally by the Knights.
"These November and December games are a time to learn I guess, time to straighten out some wrinkles," said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. "Initially, we were very lathargic, we were running slow, getting to our spots slow, moving the ball around slow. Concentration wise we were not there."
Terence Grier scored a career-high 23 points to lead Fairleigh Dickinson (0-3). Mathias Seilund had 13 points and Mike Scott added 11 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Knights.
Fairleigh Dickinson opened the second half with a 9-3 run to cut N.C. State's lead to 42-38 with 16:25 remaining, but the Wolfpack answered with a 10-0 run that included the start of Wood's 3-point flurry.
Wood made back-to-back 3s from the top of the key, then followed a free throw by Painter with a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Wolfpack ahead 52-38 with 13:15 left.
"Once we got ball movement, once we got it moving, Scott was able to pop some threes," said Lowe. "We were shooting the three quite often early. I told them, let's move it around some before we take that three."
Javier Gonzalez delivered consecutive 3-pointers a few minutes later to give N.C. State its biggest lead at 60-44 with nine minutes to play. The Wolfpack did not make anything inside the arc in the second half until C.J. Williams converted a left-handed reverse layup with 5:56 remaining.
N.C. State led 39-29 at halftime, pulling away with a 12-2 run midway through the first half. Painter scored eight points during that stretch, igniting the spurt with a three-point play and a transition layup that caused Fairleigh Dickinson to take a timeout.
The Wolfpack remained efficient after the brief stoppage, getting into the lane against Fairleigh Dickinson's zone defense. N.C. State scored on 11 of 13 possessions to take its biggest lead of the first half at 35-20 on a driving layup by Brown with 3:01 remaining in the period.
NC State will be on the road for two games next week, as the Wolfpack goes to Wisconsin on Wednesday and then to Syracuse next Saturday.
"Wisconsin is a great team, they are high energy," said Lowe. "Our guys will have to be ready to play from the opening whistle, this will be a good test for our young team."
