No. 23 N.C. State bounces back to subdue Boise State 81-70
LAHAINA, Hawaii (WTVD) -- No. 23 N.C. State played with high energy and aggressive defense to bounce back from its first loss of the season and beat Boise State 81-70 on Tuesday at the Maui Invitational.
The Wolfpack suffered through some cold shooting stretches, but clamped down on the Broncos (4-3) defensively in the second half.
N.C. State (5-1) recorded 13 steals and seven blocks in a much better effort than it showed Monday in a loss to Seton Hall.
Darrion Williams led the Wolfpack with 16 points before fouling out. Tre Holloman and Quadir Copeland (eight points each) also fouled out of the contest.
Ven-Allen Lubin had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Terrance Arceneaux also scored 11 and Paul McNeil Jr. added 10 points.
Dylan Andrews made five of Boise State's 11 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. Pearson Carmichael scored 11 points and Javan Buchanan had 10 points with nine rebounds.
The Wolfpack made their first five shots from the field and opened the game with an 11-2 run.
The Broncos capped a 16-2 run with a free throw by Andrew Meadow to take their largest lead at 26-22 with 6:08 left in the first half.
N.C. State closed out the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 34-28 lead at the intermission.
Boise State used an 11-2 run to open the second half to pull ahead 39-36, but Quadir Copeland knocked down a pair of free throws at the 14:15 mark to help his team take the lead for good at 44-42.
The Wolfpack took their largest lead with 4:12 to play on a 3-pointer by Arceneaux.
N.C. State shot 27 of 54 on field goals and 18 of 23 on free throws. It scored 24 points off of 15 Boise State turnovers.
Boise State was 19-of-56 shooting from the field and 21 of 32 from the line.
N.C. State will play the Chaminade-Texas winner for fifth place on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed.
