NC State Men’s Basketball – Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Pack Past USC Upstate

Craig Hammel [email protected]
12/22/18, 3:45 PM

Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Pack Past USC Upstate
NC State has five players score in double figures in the win

RALEIGH – Behind 62 points from the bench, the NC State men’s basketball team picked up its 11th win of the season on Saturday afternoon inside PNC Arena with a 98-71 victory. It was the most points scored off the bench since at least the 1999-2000 season and sixth time in the Kevin Keatts era that the squad has scored 40+ bench points in a single game.

Led by Eric Lockett’s season-high 15 points and eight rebounds, five players put up double figures in scoring while all 10 players on the roster scored. Additionally, Blake Harris’s eight assists in the contest was the most by an NC State player this season.

The Wolfpack improves to 11-1 on the season, extending its win streak to five and remaining undefeated at home (9-0).

Despite the Spartans jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first two minutes, the Pack went on a 20-4 run over the next 6:34 for a 21-8 advantage. NC State never led by less than nine the rest of the half, and closed the first 20 minutes with its largest lead of 18 for a 50-32 lead.

The Spartans managed to close its deficit to 11 with just less than 10 minutes left in the game, but a 24-4 run allowed the Pack to hold a 94-63 advantage for its largest lead of the game (31 points) with 2:30 to go.

NC State returns to action Dec. 28 when it hosts Loyola Maryland inside PNC Arena in its final nonconference game of the season.