Late run sends State past Camels 81-66

FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: Stephen Schramm column

ASSOCIATED PRESS STORY

RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER COVERAGE

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State rode a late 19-7 run and went on to defeat Campbell 81-66 Saturday night at PNC Arena.

The Wolfpack (2-1) led by as many as 15 early in the second half before the Camels cut the gap to as few as five. Luke Moyer hit a pair of foul shots to trim the lead to 59-53 with 7:08 to play, but Lennard Freeman scored on a put-back on the next trip to start the decisive burst.

Darius Leonard led Campbell (2-1) with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting and a game-high 9 rebounds. D.J. Mason came off the bench to add 12 points and Moyer contributed 11 while nailing all 3 of his triples. Leek Leek chipped in 10 for the camels, who shot 62 percent (13-21) from the floor in the second half, but committed 19 turnovers that the Wolfpack rode to 31 points. Quinton Ray dealt six assists.

Campbell shot 46 percent from the floor and made 8-of-19 (.421) threes, plus 12-of-15 (.800) from the line. However, State held Andrew Ryan scoreless on just one field goal attempt. Ryan entered the game averaging 17.5 points on 67 percent shooting.

T.J. Warren led NC State with 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Ralston Turner added 13, while Desmond Lee and Anthony "Cat" Barber contributed 11 each for State, which shot 54 percent from the floor, but missed 10-of-12 free throws. Tyler Lewis dealt 9 assists and pulled down 8 rebounds.

Eleven second-half turnovers led to 21 points off miscues for State, including two-straight trips after Moyer's foul shots brought CU within six.

"We're a little bit better than we played tonight, and it's disappointing on that end," said first-year Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. I thought we pressed a little offensively early on, shooting some shots a little out of rhythm. We sort of settled down in the second half; then had a couple of defensive breakdowns that ultimately cost us. There's something to be learned from the way we played and the way we lost."

State shot 50 percent (16-32) from the field and led 36-26 at half-time. The Wolfpack stretched the gap to 15 (44-29) on Warren's reverse lay-in with 17:19 to go. However, CU reeled off an 11-2 burst capped by Leek Leek's 3 from the left wing to draw within 46-40 with 14:11 remaining. CU cut the margin to five (54-49) on Moyer's triple from right of the key with 9:38 to go, but could get no closer.

The Wolfpack finished with a 37-29 edge on the glass and collected 18 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

Saturday's contest was the first of three games in a five-day span for the Camels, who host NC Central Monday (7 p.m.) and travel to play at Cincinnati Wednesday.

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