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Daytona Beach, Fla. - The NC State men's basketball team used a hot-shooting first half, and downed Akron, 66-45, in the Pack's first game of the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday afternoon.
NC State (2-0) matched the hot tempature in Daytona, starting the game on a 17-4 run over the first 6:34 of the contest. The Pack's lead would reach as much as 24 points at the 4:12 mark, and NC State would go into the half with a 43-21 lead making 68.0 percent (17-25) of its first half shots.
"That was a really good half for us," said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. "We were really good on defense. We got after them, and that set the tone. We applied pressure on the ball with our guards, and our bigs were communicating down low. We got stops, and that enabled us to get out and run."
NC State made nine of its first 12 shots of the game, and on its 17 made field goals in the first half, the Pack had 12 assists.
The second half was even, as NC State maintained its large lead throughout.
Tracy Smith had his second double-double in as many games to start the season, with game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Dennis Horner added 16 points as well, and Javier Gonzalez finished with 11 points.
The Pack defense limited the Zips (0-2) to just 30.9 percent (17-55) from the field, and forced 14 turnovers for the game.
NC State will return to action tomorrow to face Austin Peay at 8:00 p.m. The Pack will close the Glenn Wilkes Classic with Auburn on Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
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