Smith’s 23 points leads North Carolina State to a 77-42 rout against North Carolina Central

Smith leads NC State past NC Central 77-42

RALEIGH, N.C. — Tracy Smith scored 23 points and North Carolina State took a break from ACC play with a 77-42 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday.

The Wolfpack (14-8) improved to 84-11 in nonconference games at the RBC Center, which opened 11 seasons ago.

This one was a mismatch on paper, but N.C. State struggled against the Eagles (4-19), who took the lead early and didn’t surrender it until 6:37 remained in the first half.

But a 15-2 run to close the first half gave N.C. State a 27-20 lead and N.C. Central made just two of its first 19 second-half shots as the Wolfpack’s lead grew quickly.

Smith’s layup with 8:47 remaining gave him 23 points on 11 shots and put the Wolfpack in front 53-34. Smith was 5-for-5 from the floor in the second half and 9-for-11 overall.

A winter storm helped limit attendance in the 19,700-seat building to less than 20 percent of capacity.