No. 19 N.C. State clobbers New Orleans

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Time and again, a North Carolina State player turned down an open shot, choosing instead to pass the ball to an open teammate.

''I'm just really proud of them, because they did it the right way,'' Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said. ''We all kind of like ourselves, and it's commendable when you have people willing to share.''

Julius Hodge led a balanced attack with 21 points, and No. 19 N.C. State jumped on New Orleans early in a 92-58 victory Wednesday evening in the first round of the BCA Invitational.

Jordan Collins scored a career-high 17 points, Engin Atsur had 14 and four other players finished with at least eight.

''We shared the ball tonight like never before,'' said Tony Bethel, who joined Hodge with a game-high six assists. ''We made the extra pass. Guys were passing up good shots to get a great one.''

N.C. State advanced to the second round and will play Elon, which beat Fairleigh Dickinson 73-59.

The Wolfpack made their first five shots and scored the first 11 points, never giving the Privateers and coach Monte Towe a chance.

Towe starred at N.C. State during the 1970s, leading a team that included David Thompson and Tommy Burleson to the 1974 NCAA championship.

Thompson and Burleson sat behind the scorer's table for this one, watching as their former teammate tried in vain to keep New Orleans in the game. The Privateers had more turnovers than baskets well into the second half, and they even resorted to running down the shot clock.

Nothing helped, mostly because the Wolfpack were too good.

After Collins started the scoring with two free throws, Bethel and Levi Watkins each made two 3-pointers. Collins added a three-point play, and N.C. State didn't miss until Hodge's first shot about 5 1/2 minutes into the game.

''This has been a highlight for me, to bring my team in here to Raleigh,'' Towe said. ''I have to give North Carolina State all the credit in the world. I've always thought Herb Sendek has done a great job, and he'll continue to do so if everybody keeps supporting him.''

Atsur had four 3s all in the first half as the Wolfpack made 11-of-28 from beyond the arc. They had 80 points with well over 10 minutes left in the game, thanks to that unselfish style of play that included 24 assists.

Bo McCalebb led New Orleans with 21 points, the team's only player in double figures.

''I have to give Bo credit for hanging in there and hanging tough,'' Towe said. ''I thought Bo showed everybody that he can play with anybody in the country.''

The Privateers used a brief run to get within 47-27 near the end of the first half, but N.C. State closed with nine straight points. Ilian Evtimov started it off with a jumper, and Hodge added two layups.

After a turnover, Cameron Bennerman followed up a miss by Bethel with a powerful dunk. Hodge made a free throw with less than a second left to close out the scoring.

''I guess making shots can be contagious,'' Hodge said. ''Guys were really feeding off each other. This is the most confident the team has been in the offense since I've been here. We're just going to continue to follow the plan.''

The second half wasn't much better for New Orleans. With the score 61-37, Collins started a 13-0 spurt with another three-point play. Evtimov followed with a layup of a nifty pass from Bethel, Bennerman had four points and Hodge added his own rim-shaking dunk.

Freshman Gavin Grant closed it out with his first basket, a jumper from the wing.

For Collins, he improved on his previous best of 11 points, set last season against Wake Forest.

''I feel really good about myself, and I think my teammates do, too,'' he said. ''They gave me some great passes.''