UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Dereon Seabron had a career-high 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals to help N.C. State beat Central Connecticut 79-65 on Tuesday night at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.

Seabron, who had double-doubles in the first two games of the season, made 8 of 12 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Terquavion Smith added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and five assists for N.C. State (3-0). Cam Hayes scored 10 points.

Seabron scored the final five points of the first half before Casey Morsell and Jericole Hellems capped a 10-2 run to open the second with back-to-back 3-pointers and gave N.C. State its biggest lead of the game at 42-35.

Trenton McLaughlin made two 3-pointers 67 seconds apart to pull the Central Connecticut (0-3) within a point of the Wolf Pack with 9:19 to play but the 6-foot-7 Seabron, who averaged 5.2 points per game as a freshman last season, took over. He used his speed and long frame to continuously get to the rim — both in transition and in the half court — where he consistently finished, was fouled, or both.

He converted a three-point play 13 seconds later and made a fast-break layup 27 seconds after that to spark a 13-0 run to push N.C. State’s led into double figures for good. Seabron added three more layups down the stretch, drawing contact on the last of those and hitting the 1-and-1 free throw to make it 74-59 with 1:43 left.

Tre Mitchell had 14 points, McLaughlin scored 13 and Stephane Ayangma added 10 for the Blue Devils.

 

UNC Wilmington falls to Pitt

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Femi Odukale scored 15 points, John Hugley had 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Pittsburgh held on to beat UNC Wilmington 59-51 on Tuesday.

Jamarius Burton hit a 3-pointer to give Pitt a 17-6 lead about 7 minutes in and the Panthers, who never trailed, made back-to-back layups to open the second half that stretched their lead to 38-21. Shykeim Phillips answered with a 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 run and UNCW later used a 13-2 spurt to trim its deficit to 49-47 when Jaylen Fornes hit a 3 midway through the period.

The Seahawks made just 1 of 15 from the field thereon as Pitt made 8 of 14 from the free-throw line to seal it. The Panthers missed 12 of their final 13 shots from the field, including the last seven.

Trazarien White had 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals for UNCW (1-2) and Mike Okauru added 12 points.

Pitt (1-2), which lost its first two games of the season for just the second time in the last 25 years, avoided its first 0-3 start to a season since 1996-97. The Panthers lost 78-63 to The Citadel in their opener and dropped a 75-59 decision to West Virginia last Friday.

Burton, a transfer from Texas Tech who started his career at Wichita State, made his debut for the Panthers and finished with seven points.

High Point falls to Irish

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Paul Atkinson Jr. scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Notre Dame beat High Point 70-61 on Tuesday night.

Atkinson, a Yale transfer, was 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Dane Goodwin added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Nate Laszewski had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Notre Dame (2-0). Cormac Ryan had 10 points.

The Fighting Irish, which trailed 33-32 at halftime, opened the second half on a 25-12 run for a 57-45 lead with about eight minutes to play. Atkinson scored 12 points and Ryan added six during the stretch. The Irish led by double digits nearly the rest of the way.

John-Michael Wright and Jaden House scored 17 points apiece for High Point (1-2). Zack Austin added 11 points. They combined for all seven of the Panthers’ made 3-pointers.

The Irish will travel to Las Vegas for the Maui Invitational. High Point plays its next four at home.

 

Iowa too much for  NC Central

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Keegan Murray had 27 points and 21 rebounds — both career highs — and Iowa used a 14-3 second-half run to pull away in its 86-69 win over North Carolina Central on Tuesday night.

Murray, who set then-career bests of 24 and 25 points in the first two games of the season, made 9 of 10 from the free-throw line and blocked four shots. His 21 rebounds are the most by an Iowa player since Greg Brunner had 23 against Minnesota on January 18, 2006.

Eric Boone and Randy Miller Jr. made back-to-back layups before Alex Caldwell hit a 3-pointer for the Eagles to make it 57-all with 12 minutes to play. Murray scored eight points, including three dunks, as Iowa (3-0) scored 18 of the next 24 points to pull away for good.

Patrick McCaffrey hit a 3-pointer and a layup to spark a 15-0 run , capping the spurt with a dunk that made it 38-23 with 6:24 left in the first half. N.C. Central (0-3) cut its deficit to 49-44 at halftime.

Miller led the Eagles with 15 points, Marque Maultsby added 12 points and eight rebounds and Kris Monroe scored 10 points.
The Hawkeyes shot just 38% from the field, compared to 47% by NCCU, but outrebounded the Eagles 44-31 and outscored them 35-8 from the free-throw line — where Iowa shot 85%.

McCaffrey finished with 15 points, Tony Perkins scored 13 and Ahron Ulis added 12 for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa’s Jordan Bohannan hit a 3-pointer 46 seconds into the game, giving him 374 career 3s made to tie Ohio State’s Jon Diebler (2008-11) for the Big Ten’s all-time record.

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