WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: (25) North Carolina State 88, Stanford 79

Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Lorenzo Brown posted 24 points and five assists as No. 25 North Carolina State took an 88-79 win over Stanford.

Richard Howell gave 17 points with 12 boards for the Wolfpack (8-2), who have won four straight. Scott Wood had 17 points, while C.J. Leslie added 16 points and six boards in the win.

"I'm excited. I think it is another win against a team that is going to win a lot of games this year," NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. "I thought we were pretty good at times defensively, but I still think we can sustain it longer."

Dwight Powell scored 23 points with eight rebounds and four assists for the Cardinal (7-4), who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Aaron Bright scored 16 points in the loss.

The game stayed close through the first several minutes of the first half, until Wood hit three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Wolfpack a 29-20 advantage with nine minutes left in the frame.

An Andy Brown layup later capped a 6-0 run from the Cardinal to cut the deficit to two, 31-29, but Tyler Lewis scored the next four points to help North Carolina State get some space and the team eventually took a 43-38 lead into the break.

The Wolfpack opened the second half with a 7-2 run for a 50-40 lead after Brown finished a 3-point play four minutes in.

A 6-0 run a few minutes later helped North Carolina State take its largest lead of the game at 58-44 after T.J. Warren put in a layup with 13 1/2 minutes to play.

The Wolfpack's lead reached as high as 17 until an 8-0 run from the Cardinal got it back within single-digits after Josh Huestis slammed home the ball with seven minutes left.

Huestis later made a bucket to make it a 71-64 game with 5 1/2 minutes left, but Howell and Leslie followed with baskets to get it back to 11 and North Carolina State's lead never fell below eight the rest of the way.

"This was a true road game against a strong opponent, and we played well," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We were playing hard, getting after it. That's all you can ask for."

Game Notes

The only previous meeting between these two schools was a Stanford win last December ... North Carolina State shot 56.1 percent in the game, while Stanford made just 45.3 percent of its shots ... The Wolfpack host St. Bonaventure on Saturday.