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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe couldn't help being impressed by his team's start.

Tracy Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds as State beat Akron 66-45 at the Glenn Wilkes Classic on Friday.

Dennis Horner also scored 16 points for the Wolfpack (2-0), which took control early and built a 43-21 halftime lead.

"We were really good, especially defensively," Lowe said. "We really got after them and set the tone."

The Zips (0-2) got 10 points from Anthony Hitchens.

"They're very active. A tough ballclub," Lowe said of Akron. "We told our guys for the last five days that these guys are very aggressive. They get up on you."

Horner had five points, including a 3, and C.J. Williams hit a pair of jumpers as State jumped out to a 17-4 lead 6 minutes into the game.

Smith had consecutive baskets to extend the Wolfpack advantage to 23-7 in the first half. Horner's second 3 of the game made it 31-12 with 7 minutes left in the half.

"Coach wanted us to come out and play hard defense," Smith said. "We came down here with the attitude to win our games in the tournament."

Smith closed out his 14-point first half on a 3-point play with 25 seconds remaining. Horner had 10 during the opening 20 minutes.

"It was important not to have a letdown," Smith said of the second half. "We didn't come out as intense as we did in the first half, but as the game went it picked up."

State improved to 15-2 in November over the last four seasons under Lowe. The Wolfpack plays Austin Peay today.

Akron freshman center Zeke Marshall, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Austin Peay on Nov. 15 in his first collegiate game, had two points and four rebounds.

AKRON (0-2)

FG FT Reb

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

Cvetinovic 21 4-8 0-1 2-5 0 2 8

CMcKnight 13 1-6 2-6 0-0 0 3 4

Conyers 15 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 5 0

McNees 20 0-1 0-0 0-1 2 4 0

Roberts 27 3-6 0-0 0-0 0 0 8

Steward 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

McClanahan 15 1-4 0-0 0-1 2 1 3

Carroll 8 1-3 0-0 2-2 1 1 2

BMcKnight 23 2-9 2-5 1-5 1 3 6

Hitchens 31 3-9 3-4 1-2 0 3 10

Marshall 13 1-6 0-0 3-4 1 2 2

Bardo 11 1-2 0-2 3-4 0 2 2

Totals 200 17-55 7-18 14-26 7 26 45

Percentages: FG .309, FT .389. 3-point goals: 4-19, .211 (Roberts 2-4, Hitchens 1-2, McClanahan 1-4, McNees 0-1, Conyers 0-1, Carroll 0-1, C.McKnight 0-3, B.McKnight 0-3). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 3 (Bardo 2, Marshall). Turnovers: 14 (Conyers 3, McClanahan 2, Hitchens 2, B.McKnight 2, Cvetinovic 2, Marshall, Carroll, Steward). Steals: 12 (Hitchens 3, McClanahan 2, C.McKnight 2, Roberts, Marshall, McNees, Conyers, B.McKnight). Technical fouls: McNees.

N.C. STATE (2-0)

FG FT Reb

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

Wood 29 3-4 0-0 1-4 3 1 8

TSmith 33 6-10 4-8 2-11 2 2 16

Horner 32 5-7 4-4 1-4 0 3 16

Gonzalez 23 2-4 6-8 1-4 3 4 11

Williams 30 3-4 0-0 1-6 1 3 6

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

Painter 3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

Vandenberg 12 0-0 3-4 0-3 1 1 3

Davis 9 2-2 0-2 0-1 2 2 4

Mays 28 1-3 0-0 0-0 4 3 2

Totals 200 22-34 17-26 7-39 16 19 66

Percentages: FG .647, FT .654. 3-point goals: 5-8, .625 (Horner 2-2, Wood 2-3, Gonzalez 1-1, Mays 0-1, Williams 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 5 (Horner 2, Vandenberg 2, Wood). Turnovers: 25 (Gonzalez 6, Wood 6, Horner 4, T.Smith 4, Mays 3, Vandenberg, Williams). Steals: 4 (Horner, Vandenberg, T.Smith, Gonzalez). Technical fouls: None.

Akron 21 24 -- 45

N.C. State 43 23 -- 66

A--416. Officials--Patrick Evans, Everett Summers, Jeff Smith.