College basketball: Wolfpack wins easy one; next up No. 1 Purdue

Published 10:37 pm Thursday, December 9, 2021

Associated Press

RALEIGH — Dereon Seabron had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Terquavion Smith added 14 points, and North Carolina State beat Bethune-Cookman 65-48 on Thursday night.

Smith and Jericole Hellems combined to score the opening nine points of the game as it took nearly four minutes for Bethune-Cookman to score. Seabron gave N.C. State a 30-20 lead with 4:19 left in the first half but Bethune-Cookman got within 34-29 at the break by making five of its last seven shots.

N.C. State closed the game on a 10-2 run as Bethune-Cookman missed seven straight shots in the final six minutes.

Both teams shot less than 40% from the field.

Hellems finished with 13 points for N.C. State (7-2), which faces No. 1 Purdue on Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y. at the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational. Seabron recorded his sixth double-double of the season.

Seabron was named ACC player of the week for the second time this season after averaging 25 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists in N.C. State’s 104-100 quadruple-overtime victory over Nebraska and a 73-68 loss to Louisville. Smith was the freshman of the week, averaging 13 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Joe French scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half and Dylan Robertson added 10 points for Bethune-Cookman (1-8). The Wildcats are led by new head coach Reggie Theus.

It was the first meeting between N.C. State and Bethune-Cookman. N.C. State has won 29 consecutive regular-season games at home against non-conference opponents.

Wright leads NC Central past Carver College 102-50

DURHAM . (AP) — Justin Wright had a career-high 20 points as North Carolina Central rolled past Carver College 102-50 on Thursday night.

Wright hit 9 of 11 foul shots. He added seven assists.

Marque Maultsby had 16 points for North Carolina Central (4-7). Kris Monroe added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dontavius King had 13 points and eight rebounds.

North Carolina Central is undefeated (2-0) when scoring at least 100 points this season.

The Eagles forced a season-high 26 turnovers.

North Carolina Central dominated the first half and led 51-22 at the break. The Eagles’ 51 second-half points marked a season best for the team.

Cameron Knight had 15 points for the Cougars. Stephon Auguste added 10 points.

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