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RALEIGH -- N.C. State took a break from ACC play and earned its 21st straight in-state, non-conference win Tuesday with an 87-59 victory over the N.C. Central Eagles.

The Wolfpack (12-8) fell behind 10-2 but used a 20-3 run after coach Sidney Lowe called a time out with 16:30 remaining in the first half.

"We were sloppy," Lowe said of the first 4:30 of the game. "We didn't have any intensity and they came out and made their first couple of shots. Then we woke up and got after it. This is a game where you figure that can happen. You hate that it does, but it happened to us. But the guys, they grinded it out, hung in there and got back in."

Ben McCauley, with a big size advantage in the post, scored the first seven points of the game for the Wolfpack. And once the Eagles tried to double team him, it opened things outside for Courtney Fells, who had all 15 of his points in the first half, including three 3-pointers.

Johnny Thomas hit a three from the left corner to give State a 41-21 lead, but Central rallied behind Jamar Briscoe. The 5-foot-10 guard had eight points and an assist during an 12-2 run by the Eagles right before the half.

The teams combined for 82 points before intermission, quite a change from last year when the Wolfpack held the Eagles to 12 field goals in a 54-29 win in the first meeting between the two schools.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Brandon Costner scored 18 of his team-high 25 points.

"In the second half, I thought we were obviously much better," Lowe said. "Javi (Gonzalez) came in and did a great job for us. Brandon was big on the offensive boards with the tip-ins, and our bigs really controlled the inside game and the boards."

That might have been the understatement of the year. State outrebounded Central 52-14, which led to a 24-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Costner nearly outrebounded the Eagles (2-23) by himself with a game-high 13 rebounds. McCauley, who finished with 17 points, had 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of season.

The big disappointment of the night was the play of point guards Farnold Degand and Julius Mays, who combined for one point and six turnovers. That allowed Gonzalez to get on the floor for the first time after sitting out three games.

"Javi has been playing well in practice," Lowe said. "He's been the best point guard in the past five practices we've had. He's earned the right to come out and play."

Gonzalez played 15 minutes and scored five points, his first points since Jan. 10.

Thomas also gave the Wolfpack a big game off the bench. He had a career-high 9 points, including two dunks, one of which electrified the crowd.

"You know what you're going to get when he's in the game," Lowe said of Thomas. "I don't have to ever wonder if he's going to be ready to play or if he's going to play hard."

N.C. CENTRAL (2-23)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Worthy 29 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 3 4

Briscoe 39 10-22 3-3 0-1 4 2 28

Ayala 40 0-9 2-2 0-1 5 3 2

Chasten 32 4-12 0-0 0-2 0 3 10

Davis 17 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 4 7

Glasker 21 2-5 0-0 0-2 2 1 5

Branch 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 3

Holloway 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

McDonald 8 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0

Randall 6 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0

Totals 200 22-57 5-5 2-14 11 19 59

Percentages: FG .386, FT 1.000.

3-point goals: 10-24, .417 (Briscoe 5-9, Chasten 2-4, Branch 1-2, Davis 1-2, Glasker 1-3, McDonald 0-1, Ayala 0-3).

Team rebounds: 3.

Blocked shots: 1 (Chasten).

Turnovers: 13 (Briscoe 5, Chasten 2, Randall 2, Branch, Glasker, McDonald, Ayala).

Steals: 9 (Briscoe 4, Ayala 2, Davis, Worthy, Glasker).

N.C. STATE (12-8) FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Fells 31 5-8 2-2 1-8 5 2 15

Degand 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Ferguson 27 1-5 0-0 0-1 0 1 2

Costner 27 10-15 5-9 9-13 1 0 25

McCauley 30 7-8 3-3 5-12 1 1 17

Harris 4 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

Kufuor 3 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 2

Gonzalez 15 2-4 0-1 0-1 5 1 5

KSmith 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2

TSmith 5 0-1 3-6 1-1 0 1 3

Mays 19 0-2 1-2 1-4 4 3 1

Thomas 17 4-6 0-0 1-3 1 0 9

Horner 16 2-4 0-0 1-6 2 0 6

Totals 200 33-57 14-23 19-52 19 11 87

Percentages: FG .579, FT .609.

3-point goals: 7-19, .368 (Fells 3-5, Horner 2-3, Thomas 1-1, Gonzalez 1-2, Harris 0-1, Mays 0-1, Costner 0-2, Ferguson 0-4).

Team rebounds: 1.

Blocked shots: 2 (Mays, Thomas).

Turnovers: 20 (Gonzalez 4, McCauley 4, Mays 4, Fells 3, Costner 2, Degand 2, Ferguson).

Steals: 9 (Ferguson 3, Fells 2, Gonzalez, T.Smith, Harris, McCauley).

N.C. Central 36 23 -- 59

N.C. State 46 41 -- 87

A--10,888.

Officials--Michael Stephens, Bill Covington, Reggie Greenwood.