Ven-Allen Lubin collected 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as North Carolina State rolled over Troy 81-62 on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
In addition to Lubin notching his third double-double of the young season, Paul McNeil Jr. paced NC State (4-0) with 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Darius Adams scored 13 points — all in the first half — and dished out five assists for the Wolfpack.
Kerrington Kiel led Troy (1-3) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Donovan Oday (12 points) and Caua Pacheco (10) also scored in double figures for the Trojans.
Both teams shot just 33.3% from 3-point range, although NC State shot better from the field (43.1%) than Troy (34.5%) and also outrebounded the Trojans 44-31.
Adams led all scorers in the first half. He shot 5 of 6 in the session, while his teammates were a combined 7 of 21 from the field. Troy, meanwhile, hit just 32.3% in the opening half with its starters combining to go 4 of 17.
NC State held an 11-10 lead before Christian Hammond’s 3-pointer ignited an 8-2 burst that gave the Wolfpack a bit of breathing room. The Trojans hung tight for a while, although the hosts scored six of the final eight points of the half — four by Adams — to head into the locker room ahead 36-27.
McNeil sank two 3-pointers early in the second half to increase the lead to 44-30. Eemeli Yalaho made a layup shortly thereafter to create NC State’s first 15-point cushion.
Zymicah Wilkins’ two free throws with 12:14 left made it a 20-point game. The Wolfpack led by as many as 22 down the stretch.
The Trojans got as close as 63-50 with 6:12 remaining on an Oday trey before Preston Edmead countered with a 3-pointer on the other end. Edmead then found Lubin for a dunk on the hosts’ next possession as NC State rebuilt its lead to 18.
–Field Level Media
