Raleigh, NC – Richard Howell had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 6 North Carolina State rolled over Miami-Ohio, 97-59, in the season opener for each team at PNC Arena.
Rodney Purvis also netted 16 points, while Lorenzo Brown finished with 15, C.J. Leslie had 11 and Scott Wood and Thomas de Thaey each contributed 10 for the Wolfpack (1-0), who are coming off their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2006.
"This team is going to find ways to score,' NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. "We have to be committed to becoming a great defensive team and I think tonight, for the most part, we had some stretches in there where we were very good defensively."
Allen Roberts had 16 points to pace Miami-Ohio (0-1), which is entering its first season under new coach John Cooper.
"Sometimes it's okay to lose, but it depends on how we lost, whether we competed or not," Cooper said. "We gave ourselves opportunities, but we broke down on all ends. We were giving up layups in transition, allowing easy baskets after we came up with a score."
NC State opened the contest with a 10-0 run and never looked back in the wire- to-wire victory.
After a 7-0 push by the RedHawks later brought them within 21-15 with less than 11 minutes left in the first half, North Carolina State closed out the frame with a 20-7 run as they shot 65 percent from the floor to carry a 41-22 lead into the break.
Miami-Ohio, meanwhile, was held to just 21.9 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
The Wolfpack continued to roll in the second half, outscoring Miami-Ohio by a mark of 56-37 as they connected on 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc in the period.
Game Notes
It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams ... North Carolina State improved to 14-0 in home openers at PNC Arena ... NC State finished the game shooting 8-for-19 from three-point range, while Miami-Ohio shot 7-for-26 from beyond the arc ... The Wolfpack held a 44-37 advantage on the glass.
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