National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
N.C. State 78, Delaware State 44
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Where: RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
Officials: # Jeff Clark, # Bernard Clinton, # Chuck Jones
Attendance: 10159
C.J. Leslie and Scott Wood each scored 14 points and North Carolina State closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 78-44 thumping of visiting Delaware State on Wednesday.

Richard Howell added 12 points and 12 rebounds for North Carolina State (11-4), which has won five straight and improved to 25-0 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Wolfpack had to sweat out a 72-70 win over Delaware State (4-9) last season, but it put away the Hornets early with a 33-6 run that bridged the first and second halves.

Freshman Tahj Tate scored 14 points on 5 of 20 shooting in his return from a four-game suspension for Delaware State. The Hornets, who were without point guard Jay Threatt (ankle) for a second straight game, shot 29 (18-of-61) percent en route to their sixth straight loss.

After a sluggish start, North Carolina closed the half on a 22-0 run and carried a commanding 42-18 lead into the locker room. The highlight of the impressive stretch came when Leslie intercepted an errant pass, raced down the court and thrilled the crowd by flushing home a lob from himself.

The Hornets shot just 23 percent (8-of-34) and were outrebounded 30-13 in the first half.

The Wolfpack picked up where it left off in the second half. North Carolina State hit five of its first six shots and took a 53-24 lead on a3-pointer from Wood. The lead grew to as many as 37 points.
Top Game Performances
 
Delaware State   N.C. State
Tahj Tate 14 Scoring C.J. Leslie 14
Tahj Tate 3 Assists Lorenzo Brown 5
Marques Oliver 9 Rebounds Richard Howell 12
Tahj Tate 4 Free Throws Made Richard Howell 6
Kendall Gray 3 Steals C.J. Williams 3
Kendall Gray 2 Blocks C.J. Leslie 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Delaware State 44 29.5 3-12 5-9 6 32 3 9 10
N.C. State 78 45.2 7-22 15-17 18 48 5 8 10