Hofstra falls to 1-1 after 76-64 loss to N.C. State
North Carolina State's Anthony Barber, left, and Kyle Washington guard Hofstra's Juan'ya Green during the second half of an NCAA game in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. North Carolina State won 76-64. Credit: AP / Gerry Broome
Ralston Turner scored a career-high 24 points to help North Carolina State beat Hofstra, 76-64, Monday night at PNC Arena.
Trevor Lacey had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (2-0), which got another strong performance from a backcourt that will have to carry the load with the departure of Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year T.J. Warren to the NBA.
Hofstra made a run in the second half after North Carolina State pushed its lead to 53-35 with 15:55 left. A free throw from Rokas Gustys started an 11-2 Hofstra run that closed the gap to 55-46 with 12:47 to play. Juan'ya Green had two three-pointers during the spurt, and baskets from Dion Nesmith and Ameen Tanksley contributed to the spurt.
But N.C. State regained its composure and its lead was 16 a few minutes later.
Green scored 19 points for Hofstra (1-1), which fell behind by 16 at the break and had to play catch-up. The Pride shot just 30.9 percent (21-for-68).
"We lost the game in the first half," Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich said. "They kind of jumped us, to their credit, and took us out of our offense. We were just totally unsettled offensively in that first half and it affected the game."
Nesmith and Tanksley each had 13 points for the Pride. Tanksley also had 10 rebounds and Gustys had 12. Brian Bernardi shot 1-for-5 and was held to just three points. -- AP
