Hill's 19, swarming defense lead NC State past William & Mary 81-58
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Marcus Hill scored 19 points, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 10 points and nine rebounds, and NC State beat William & Mary 81-58 on Friday night.
The Wolfpack is 5-0 to start a season 5-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 team began 6-0.
NC State was coming off a 72-49 win over Colgate on Monday, marking the first time the program has held an opponent under 50 points since a 65-48 win over Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 9, 2021.
The Wolfpack scored 15 straight points early in the first half against William & Mary and led by double figures for the last 10 minutes to lead 43-24 at halftime.
But the Tribe rallied. Noah Collier scored seven straight points to get William & Mary within 59-52 before Hill scored five points during a 9-0 run to rebuild a double-digit lead. Another 9-0 run, with five points from Dontrez Styles, made it 77-54.
Styles and Jayden Taylor each added 12 points, and Ben Middlebrooks scored 11 for NC State. Styles scored 10 points in the second half when the Wolfpack shot 54%.
Collier scored 25 points and Gabe Dorsey added 13 for William & Mary (3-4).
The Wolfpack forced the Tribe into 21 turnovers, leading to 29 points.
Next up, the Wolfpack faces its first serious test of the season. They'll play No. 6 Purdue on Thursday at the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego in a rematch from last year's Final Four.
William & Mary, meanwhile, goes against Appalachian State on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed.
