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RALEIGH -- Tracy Smith entered the game looking to give his team a spark. He ended up providing so much more.

Smith scored a career-high 31 points in 23 minutes off the bench to help N.C. State defeat Towson 88-68 on Wednesday.

Smith made 10 of 15 shots from the field and all 11 of his free throws for the Wolfpack (9-2), which rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the first half.

"I was just very energized coming into the game," said Smith, whose previous career high was 14 points. "We started out slow, and I wanted to bring in positive energy. That's what I did."

Brandon Costner added 15 points and 10 assists for State, which led 46-41 at halftime after closing the first half on an 8-0 run. Courtney Fells scored 11 points for the Wolfpack, and Ben McCauley and Dennis Horner added 10 points apiece.

Josh Thornton led the Tigers (5-8), who suffered their fifth loss in six games, with 22 points. He made four 3-pointers in a span of 3:22 early in the first half, giving Towson its biggest lead at 18-7 with 14:30 remaining in the period.

That's when Smith went to work. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, who entered the game averaging 8.2 points per contest, scored 11 consecutive points to help N.C. State climb back into the game.

The Tigers survived Smith's initial barrage, but they relinquished the lead when he sparked another surge late in the first half. Costner converted a three-point play to tie the score at 41 with 2:22 remaining, and Smith put the Wolfpack ahead for good with a layup and a tap-in of a missed free throw.

State carried the momentum into the second half, when it shot 60 percent from the floor (15 of 25). Smith made his first five shots of the half, with his first three buckets coming on passes from Costner.

"We moved the ball well," said State coach Sidney Lowe. "We were prepared for both of their zones. The only thing that we needed to do was stay patient, and we did that."

TOWSON (5-8)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Morris 30 1-5 0-0 0-3 3 2 2

JaSmith 36 6-13 7-9 8-11 1 3 20

Thornton 33 7-14 2-2 0-0 1 0 22

Hairston 24 2-6 0-0 1-6 1 2 5

Franklin 35 1-9 0-0 0-1 5 2 3

Brewster 9 0-3 0-0 0-1 0 2 0

Nwankwo 14 1-2 4-4 4-6 1 5 6

Lee 10 3-6 0-0 2-2 0 3 6

Durant 9 2-3 0-0 1-1 1 4 4

Totals 200 23-61 13-15 16-31 13 23 68

Percentages: FG .377, FT .867. 3-point goals: 9-24, .375 (Thornton 6-12, Hairston 1-2, Ja.Smith 1-2, Franklin 1-5, Brewster 0-1, Morris 0-2). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 6 (Hairston 3, Nwankwo 2, Lee). Turnovers: 10 (Franklin 3, Ja.Smith 2, Nwankwo 2, Durant, Thornton, Morris). Steals: 7 (Ja.Smith 2, Franklin 2, Durant, Morris, Thornton). Technical fouls: Nwankwo.

N.C. STATE (9-2)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Fells 27 4-9 0-0 0-5 0 2 11

Degand 26 2-3 2-2 1-2 1 2 6

Horner 29 3-6 2-4 3-6 3 1 10

Costner 34 4-6 6-7 0-1 10 1 15

McCauley 16 4-9 2-4 3-7 1 2 10

Harris 16 0-1 1-2 0-3 0 1 1

Kufuor 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Williams 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

KSmith 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

TSmith 23 10-15 11-11 5-7 1 2 31

Mays 25 1-2 2-2 0-1 5 1 4

Totals 200 28-52 26-32 13-35 21 12 88

Percentages: FG .538, FT .813. 3-point goals: 6-10, .600 (Fells 3-4, Horner 2-4, Costner 1-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Costner 2, Fells). Turnovers: 10 (Degand 3, Fells 2, Costner 2, Horner, Kufuor, McCauley). Steals: 4 (Costner, T.Smith, Horner, Degand). Technical fouls: None.

Towson 41 27 -- 68

N.C. State 46 42 -- 88

Officials--Brian Dorsey, Reggie Greenwood, Jeff Clark. A--9,521.