Marcus Hill scored 16 points to help slow-starting North Carolina State churn out a 66-56 victory over visiting Coppin State on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.
Dontrez Styles scored seven of his 15 points in the final 3:03 to help the Wolfpack (7-3) finally pull away.
Ben Middlebrooks collected 13 points and Dennis Parker Jr. added 10 points for NC State, which missed its first 10 shots and fell behind by as many as nine points in the opening minutes.
NC State never fully recovered from its shooting woes, finishing just 36.7 percent accuracy from the floor and making 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range.
It was the Wolfpack’s annual Heritage Game, played at Reynolds Coliseum, which was NC State’s home floor from 1944-99.
Peter Oduro scored 11 points while Julius Ellerbe III, Toby Nnadozie and Jonathan Dunn added 10 points apiece for Coppin State (0-11).
The Eagles lost for the 24th straight time dating to January of last year. It is the longest current losing streak in Division I.
The Wolfpack took a while to figure out how to attack the Eagles’ zone defense as they failed to make a field goal in the first 5:17.
Meanwhile, Coppin State made six of its first eight shots. Camaren Sparrow scored six quick points, while Zahree Harrison later snagged a steal and dished a no-look feed to Dunn for a slam dunk and a 17-8 lead eight minutes into the game.
NC State responded by pounding the boards. Middlebrooks scored on a putback and then added a three-point play after collecting another offensive rebound.
Later in the half, Hill made a pair of driving layups to cap a 7-point run which gave the Wolfpack their first lead, 23-21, with 5:17 left in the period.
Parker then added a pair of 3-pointers, the second one coming with 2 seconds left in the half, stretching NC State’s lead to 35-28.
The Wolfpack appeared ready to seize command as they scored seven straight points early in the second half, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Styles, for a 42-31 lead.
But Coppin State stayed within striking distance as NC State’s offensive woes continued.
A 3-pointer by Nnadozie cut the Eagles’ deficit to 57-50 with 4:07 left, but the Wolfpack answered with a 9-0 run, with seven of the points coming from Styles.
–Field Level Media
