Jayden Taylor poured in 21 points as North Carolina State routed Maryland-Eastern Shore 93-61 on Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Taylor went 8-for-11 from the floor and also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win for the Wolfpack (6-2). NC State also got 15 points from DJ Burns Jr. and 12 from Casey Morsell.
The Hawks (2-6) lost their fourth straight game and were powered by 22 points and nine rebounds from Troy Hupstead. Chace Davis and Devon Ellis chipped in 12 points apiece.
UMES stayed with NC State for much of the first half, trailing by just six just past the midway point of the period. But the Wolfpack later broke off a 12-4 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:20 left in the half.
It was a stretch powered by Mohamed Diarra, who had four points during the surge. He finished with eight points and five boards in just 14 minutes of action.
NC State put together a 27-11 run over the final eight minutes of the contest to forge its largest lead at 32. MJ Rice headlined the extended outburst with seven points.
Crucial for North Carolina State was its ability to score off turnovers, turning 16 coughed-up possessions from Eastern Shore into 25 points. Meanwhile, UMES flipped nine Wolfpack turnovers into just eight points.
NC State also had a big advantage inside, where it outscored the Hawks 48-26 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 38-29.
The Wolfpack played this game at the historic on-campus Reynolds Coliseum, where they played their home games regularly until moving into the much larger off-campus PNC Arena in 1999. Before the game, NC State unveiled a statue outside the arena of Hall of Famer, 1974 Final Four Most Outstanding Player and three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year David Thompson.
–Field Level Media