NC State beats Maine to improve to 4-0
RALEIGH — Torin Dorn scored 15 points to help North Carolina State beat Maine 82-63 on Saturday.
C.J. Bryce added 14 points for the Wolfpack (4-0), who notched a fourth straight easy home win to start the season. N.C. State scored the game's first 15 points and maintained a comfortable margin the rest of the afternoon.
NC State's Markell Johnson also scored 13 points and showed no ill effects after being helped off the court following a hard blindside backcourt pick early in Tuesday's win against UNC Asheville.
He hit a 3-pointer for the Wolfpack's first basket, one of four on a day that included a four-point play.
NC State shot 45 percent and made 11 3s, with eight of those coming before halftime to lead 48-24 at the break.
Andrew Fleming scored 19 points to lead the Black Bears (0-4), who had 18 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Wolfpack.
BIG PICTURE
Maine: The America East program has crossed past the midpoint of a six-game road stretch to open the season. The problem is that Maine hasn't been particularly close in any of those, losing by 13 at Denver, 14 at Utah and 43 at San Francisco entering this game. The good news Saturday was that, after getting in the quick 15-0 hole, the Black Bears played relatively even the rest of the afternoon. And Maine shot 64 percent after halftime to finish at 55 percent for the game.
NC State: The victory margins sure look nice, though they're coming against a soft schedule of overmatched opponents with little ability to pressure the Wolfpack. NC State beat Mount St. Mary's by 50 points in the opener, then beat Maryland-Eastern Shore by 46 and finally UNC Asheville by 51 on Tuesday night. Throw in Maine, and the Wolfpack's first four opponents entered Saturday with an average national rank of No. 322.25 according to KenPom.
UP NEXT
Maine: The Black Bears visit North Texas on Tuesday.
NC State: St. Peter's visits the Wolfpack on Tuesday.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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