RALEIGH — Last season, it took a last-second basket by C.J. Leslie for N.C. State to edge St. Bonaventure.
Not this year.
Leslie scored 18 of his career-high 33 points in the opening half and Scott Wood finished with 23 points as the No. 25 Wolfpack spurted to a 92-73 victory over the Bonnies at PNC Arena.
Wood notched his season high in points as the Pack (9-2) won its fifth straight. Point guard Lorenzo Brown also had a season-high 11 assists.
The Wolfpack, which leads the nation in field-goal percentage, built a 44-33 first-half lead on 58.6 percent shooting from the field and shot 57 percent for the game.
Leslie did some hard work at both ends in the first half, grabbing seven rebounds and fueling a late run that help the Pack take the 11-point halftime lead.
With less than seven minutes left in the first half, Leslie hustled into the backcourt after forcing a turnover. Spotting Brown breaking down the lane, he made a soft lob pass for a dunk that had Pack fans howling.
Later, Brown returned the favor. With Wood breaking to the corner, Leslie rolled to the basket. Brown took a look at Wood but made the pass to Leslie for a layup.
Brown later added a dunk-follow to cap a 15-4 spurt that ended with a fast-break jam by T.J. Warren. The Pack led 36-22 and St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, who was working the refs intensely most of the half, callled timeout.
The Bonnies, who had some flight problems getting to Raleigh on Friday, is a team of skill and quickness. But the Bonnies shot 40.6 percent in the opening half and gave up 10 points off turnovers.
Wood and Rodney Purvis had three-pointers as the Wolfpack broke out to a 56-39 lead in the first four minutes of the second half. Wood made his first eight shots from the field and two free throws before his first miss of the game -- a shot from the right wing with 9:54 left in the game.
Pack center Richard Howell had a string of four straight double-doubles come to an end.
The Pack topped the Bonnies 67-65 in Rochester, N.Y., last season as Leslie scored with less than a second left. Leslie's acrobatic shot from the left baseline came after he caught a length-of-the-court pass.
The Pack next plays Dec. 29 against Western Michigan at PNC Arena.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
Getting better
Mon, 12/24/2012 - 00:02 — JPDOhioIt's pretty amazing how good CJ can be when he decides to really bring it. The Pack needs this from him every time out.
Good to see Scott get his shot back. I've more variety in hos offensive game lately and he continues to contribute in several different ways.
Tough game for Richard, but that's ok. He has been outstanding this year and will be again as long as he doesn't get down on himself. Other picked up the slack, which is a true strength on this team.
The Bonnies are a good team and the Pack manhandled them. As long as 3 of the 4 veterans deliver and the freshman keep doing what they are, the Pack will be successful.
Chillin out
Sun, 12/23/2012 - 03:39 — shharrisI've been hard on these boys for a long time. this is 2 games in a row where the pack was never threatened.Seem like everyone took a turn at playing well. I noticed TJ getting a key rebound and Vandenberg jumping out on a key double team that (both plays) led to easy points. Wood was hitting and playing defense. Props to CJ.....good alround game. When you beat teams you're supposed to beat and make it look easy, we fans should be grateful. Gott is played the subs early in both halves and they're getting better. I'm trying to chill out, count on GOTT to get the boys ready to win the next two games, then showing everyone they're for real against GA TECH. steve'73