Ven-Allen Lubin and Paul McNeil Jr. posted double-doubles and host North Carolina State used a dominant first half to cruise past Presbyterian 94-60 on Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (3-0) held the Blue Hose (0-3) to 6-for-24 shooting (25%) from the field in the first half, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. The stifling defense helped NC State build a 46-19 halftime lead.
Lubin finished with a game-high 21 points, including 14 in the first half, and added 10 rebounds. McNeil tallied 10 second-half points on his way to 12 points and a career-best 12 boards.
NC State’s Christian Hammond scored 13 points while connecting on 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Zymicah Wilkins collected 13 points and seven rebounds, while Darius Adams contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Wolfpack shot 36-for-73 (49.3%) from the field and 10-for-27 (37.0%) from 3-point range, marking the third time in three games that they’ve connected on double-digit 3-point buckets. They also outrebounded Presbyterian by a 52-32 margin while scoring 50 points in the paint.
The Blue Hose showed offensive improvement in the second half, when they were outscored 48-41. They were led by Triston Wilson’s game totals of 14 points and five rebounds and three assists. No other Presbyterian player topped seven points.
Presbyterian shot 14-for-28 from the foul line in the loss.
The Blue Hose scored the game’s first basket on an Erik Taylor layup but never led again as the Wolfpack pushed to a 17-7 lead in just over eight minutes. Lubin scored NC State’s first 10 points, setting the tone for his second double-double in three games.
Presbyterian scored the first 13 points of the second half to trim the lead to 46-32 with 15:58 remaining but never came any closer, with NC State’s largest lead of the night coming at 81-45 with 5:45 remaining.
–Field Level Media
