Associated Press

RALEIGH — Diamond Johnson scored 18 points and No. 10 North Carolina State handily won an in-state matchup over Elon 89-55 on Thursday night.

Johnson shot 7 for 11 and added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes for the Wolfpack (2-0). Camille Hobby added 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Madison Hayes tallied 11 points and Jakia Brown-Turner had 10.

It was an improved performance from Johnson, who shot 3 for 11 in N.C. State’s opener on Tuesday.

“I just went in the gym more. I didn’t let Tuesday affect me. We’ve got a long season,” Johnson said. “I focused more on finishing my lay-ups, shooting the ball well and getting my teammates involved.”

Elon (0-2) was led by Evonna McGill, who scored 12 points. Kamryn Dotty added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

N.C. State took a 20-point advantage into halftime. That lead grew to as many as 36 points in the second half.

“Got off to a good start and I thought we did some things well,” Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said. “I was really disappointed in our transition defense. It just felt like we didn’t do a good job of matching up. We had trouble with picks on the ball. We’re going to have to fix that.”

Elon has just two players on its roster taller than 6-foot-1, while N.C. State has five. The Wolfpack used their size advantage to outscore the Phoenix 48-24 in the paint and win the rebounding battle 41-25.

Men

Appalachian State wins 79-74 in OT against NC Central

BOONE — Tyree Boykin scored 20 points as Appalachian State beat North Carolina Central 79-74 in overtime.

CJ Huntley added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers (2-0). Terence Harcum finished with 14 points. The Eagles (0-2) were led by Justin Wright, who recorded 17 points and six rebounds. Brendan Medley-Bacon added 16 points and two blocks.

Wright forced overtime with a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Maryland takes 71-51 victory over Western Carolina

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Sophomore Julian Reese finished with career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds to power Maryland to a 71-51 victory over Western Carolina on Thursday night.

Reese sank 7 of 9 shots from the floor and all five of his free throws, picking up his first career double-double. The Terrapins improved to 2-0 under Kevin Willard, who was the head coach at Seton Hall from 2010-22.

Jahmir Young added 16 points for Maryland, while Hakim Hart scored 10. The Terrapins shot 44.3% overall but just 10.5% from 3-point range (2 of 19). The Terps had just 10 assists on 27 baskets.

Tyzhaun Claude topped the Catamounts (0-2) with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Western Carolina shot just 27% overall but made 7 of 28 from distance.

Maryland held Niagara without a 3-pointer in a season-opening 71-49 victory. Western Carolina didn’t surpass 50 points until Marcus Kell buried a 3 with 27 seconds left to play.

It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2005. Maryland is 3-0 all-time versus the Catamounts.

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