University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
NC State
Wolfpack Holds Off Bulldogs 84-75
11.11.2011 | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. - N.C. State placed four players in double figures and held off several UNC Asheville comebacks in the second half as the Wolfpack downed the Bulldogs, 84-75 in the season-opener at the RBC Center Friday night.
The Bulldogs (0-1) were led by Matt Dickey with 17 points, while Jaron Lane finished with 13 points. Jeremy Atkinson and Chris Stephenson added 11 points each.
N.C. State was led by C.J. Williams with 18 points. Richard Howell chipped in a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
The Wolfpack build a 17-point halftime lead at 44-27. The Bulldogs made nine turnovers in the opening half with State getting nine steals. Lorenzo Brown had eight of the nine Wolfpack steals.
"It's hard to come back when you're down 17 points at the half," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We just weren't mentally ready to play a team like N.C. State tonight. Our guys needed to play hard for 40 minutes and didn't do that this evening. We made some runs in the second half but missed some shots that could have made the game closer."
The Wolfpack used a 17-2 advantage in fast-break points to build that 44-27 lead. Brown and Howell combined for 21 first-half points to get the home team going.
Asheville quickly made a game of it in the second half. Lane had five points in an early 9-2 run as the Bulldogs close to 46-36 as J.P. Primm knocked down a long three-pointer at the 17:50 mark.
The visitors continued to rally and got to 48-41 when senior forward Quinard Jackson made the first three-pointer of his career.
Trailing 50-41, Asheville came down five different times with a chance to get closer and missed five straight three-point shots.
"There was a spot in the second half when we needed to make a shot and didn't do it," said Biedenbach. "We had some good looks, had the right guys shooting but just didn't get the shots down."
N.C. State later got the lead back to 15 as the Bulldogs got to within nine four different times but just couldn't get closer.
"We beat a good team tonight in UNC Asheville," explained first-year N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried. "Eddie has a good club that's scrappy and made some good runs on us in the second half. We played very well on defense in the first half that allowed us to build a lead."
State controlled the boards, 50-36 and out-scored the Bulldogs in the paint 42-18.
"N.C. State is as good team. They're well-coached and they did a nice job getting the ball inside on us," said Biedenbach.
The Bulldogs return home on Sunday for the inaugural game at Kimmel Arena. Asheville hosts the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU. Sunday's game is sold out.
"We're excited about playing in our first game at Kimmel Arena," added Biedenbach. "It should be a great day."
