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Devon Daniels leads all scorers with 21 points
RALEIGH — The NC State men’s basketball team defeated Western Carolina on Wednesday night, 100-67, in its annual Heritage game at James T. Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum to improve to 8-1 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Devon Daniels led all scorers with 21 points.
The evening opened with a special ceremony as the arena inside Reynolds Coliseum was officially dedicated for former head coach, Jim Valvano.
Leading 45-33 at half, the Wolfpack shook off the Catamounts in the second half to christen the newly dedicated arena with a win. The Wolfpack forced 21 of Western Carolina’s 33 turnovers in the second half as the Pack tied its season-high with 13 steals.
The 33 turnovers are the most for an NC State opponent in the Kevin Keatts era and the most since at least the 2001-02 season.
The Pack opened the second half by scoring the first 10 points to extend its lead to 22 points just three minutes into the final period. WCU would never get closer than 20 points the rest of the way as NC State shot 56.7 percent from the field, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from long range in the second period.
NC State’s bench scored 32 of the Pack’s 55 points in the second half as Jericole Hellems (16) and Blake Harris (15) both finished the game with career-highs in points.
NC State took care of the ball in the first half, only committing two turnovers, as the Pack opened up a double-digit lead midway through the first half and kept the Catamounts at bay throughout the opening 20 minutes.
Daniels sparked NC State early with nine points in the opening six minutes of play. The sophomore guard tallied 16 points in the first half on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor.
NC State has held a victory margin of at least 15 points in seven of its first nine games for the first time since the 1998-99 season. It is the first time since the 1995-96 season that the Pack has scored 100 points in three of its first nine games.
The Pack now has 10 days off – its longest break without a game in the season – and will return to action Saturday, Dec. 15 when it plays Penn State in Atlantic City, N.J. as part of the Boardwalk Classic.
