RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Tracy Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help North Carolina State beat Georgia State 69-53 in the season opener for both teams Thursday night.
Julius Mays scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime for the Wolfpack (1-0), who shook off a bad shooting night and the stubborn
Panthers to win their opener for the 16th straight season. N.C. State won despite shooting 41 percent and missing 13 of 16 3-point
attempts.
Ousman Krubally had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Georgia State (0-1), which shot 37 percent.
In a tight game that was tied with about 14 minutes left, Mays came through with four free throws and a key basket that helped
N.C. State get some separation. Javi Gonzalez followed with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound from just-inserted freshman Josh
Davis to start an 18-5 run that blew the game open in the final minutes.
It was a lively finish after a sluggish start for the Wolfpack and fourth-year coach Sidney Lowe. For much of the game, his team
didn't look sharp and was playing in front of a listless crowd in a half-empty RBC Center. N.C. State blew almost all of a 12-point
first-half lead and led just 32-29 at halftime, but played better defense in the second half to help create the decisive spurt and
eventually got several transition baskets in the final minutes to display some of the faster tempo that Lowe was looking for.
The Wolfpack played without senior Farnold Degand, who was sitting out for what Lowe described after the game as an academic
problem. Lowe said Degand -- who wasn't on the bench -- is eligible to play but would sit out until meeting some team standards, though Lowe didn't elaborate further. Lowe had talked through the preseason about playing the former point guard on the wing to get another ballhandler on the court.
Dennis Horner added 15 points for the Wolfpack, while Gonzalez had eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists after winning
the starting point guard job in the preseason.
The game was part of the Glenn Wilkes Classic, though the Wolfpack won't play again in the event until facing Akron on Nov.
20 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
