No. 23 NC State plots to stifle Texas in Maui event

Fresh off of victories, both No. 23 North Carolina State and Texas will play for fifth place at the Maui Invitational on Wednesday night in Lahaina, Hawaii.The Wolfpack (5-1) are coming off an 81-70 win over Boise State on Tuesday, one day after falling 85-74 to Seton Hall.”Give our guys credit,” North Carolina State coach Will Wade said after Tuesday’s game. “We were able to turn it around pretty quick against a really good Boise team. It was a good win. We needed it.”The Longhorns (5-2) enter the matchup off a 119-78 victory over Division II Chaminade on Tuesday night. Texas recovered after a heartbreaking 87-86 loss to Arizona State in the first game of the invitational on Monday.Tramon Mark led the charge with 19 points against the Silverswords, while Dailyn Swain scored 18 to go with nine rebounds. Matas Vokietaitis nearly had a double-double with 16 points and nine boards.The Longhorns shot 65.8% from the floor and owned a 59-20 rebounding advantage over Chaminade.Jordan Pope added 15 points and eight assists, Simeon Wilcher scored 12 off the bench, and Lassina Traore contributed nine points and 14 rebounds in a reserve role for Texas.The Longhorns, who won despite turning the ball over 25 times, are ready to push ahead to Wednesday’s game. Mark said he is looking forward to a chance to play the nationally ranked Wolfpack.”We are just really excited,” Mark said of the matchup. “I know the group of guys we have. We did a poor job of taking care of the ball, but that’s OK, we will bounce back (on Wednesday) and have a chance to get a Top 25 win. We’re focused on that game.”Darrion Williams led the Wolfpack with 16 points against Boise State, reaching double figures in all six games this season. He is averaging 20.2 points per outing.

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