No. 23 North Carolina State forced 15 Boise State turnovers and pulled away in the second half for an 81-70 win on Tuesday in a consolation-bracket game of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Darrion Williams had a team-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting for the Wolfpack (5-1) before fouling out with 3:15 left. Ven-Allen Lubin had 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for NC State.
Guard Dylan Andrews had a game-high 26, including five 3-pointers, and kept the Broncos close down the stretch. Javan Buchanan had 10 points and nine rebounds for Boise State (4-3).
The difference was Broncos turnovers that led to 24 Wolfpack points. NC State also made 9 of 21 (42.9%) from 3-point range compared to 11 of 33 (33.3%) for Boise State.
A day after losing to Seton Hall in the tournament’s opening round, the Wolfpack came out on fire, Williams had a pair of early baskets as the Wolfpack jumped out to an 8-0 lead. But a first-half theme developed with each team trading big runs.
Boise State answered with a 10-3 run to pull to 11-10, but then the Wolfpack hit back-to-back-to-back threes by Williams, Tre Holloman and Matt Able to go up 20-10.
NC State then went six minutes without a point and Boise State went on a 12-0 burst highlighted by a three-point play by Andrews. The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, with NC State leading 34-28 at the break.
Boise State opened the second half with an 11-2 run, getting a pair of threes from RJ Keene to take a 39-36 lead, but the Broncos couldn’t sustain the momentum. The Wolfpack took the lead for good on two free throws by Quadir Copeland with 14:15 remaining in regulation and built the lead up to 57-47 with 7:04 left.
The Wolfpack made enough big shots in the final two minutes to counter Andrews’ heroics. Holloman made a three with two minutes left to put the lead to 74-63, and NC State had a pair of fast-break dunks in the final minute.
NC State will compete in the fifth-place game on Wednesday against Texas. Boise State will go up against Chaminade in the seventh-place game.
–Field Level Media
