College basketball

Wolfpack breeze past Terps

North Carolina State's Levi Watkins, left, battles Maryland's Mike Jones for a loose ball during the first half.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - North Carolina State limited Maryland to five field goals in the first half, and Julius Hodge had 20 points and 11 rebounds in an 85-69 victory Sunday.

Engin Atsur scored 17 and Ilian Evtimov had 16 for N.C. State, which led 53-27 at halftime and never let the margin slip below 10 points in winning for the second time in seven games.

The Wolfpack had lost 14 of their past 15 at Maryland, but this one was never in doubt after State opened a 16-4 lead.

Maryland opened the second half with a fullcourt press that keyed a 14-4 run and got the Terrapins within 16. A 5-0 burst cut the margin to 10 with 8:32 left. At that point, the Wolfpack made only two field goals in the second half.

"Maybe as difficult as anything was when Maryland made its run, our guys showed the ability to hold tight and withstand the rally and increase the lead," coach Herb Sendek said. "I think that took tremendous heart, as much heart as it did to play as well as they did the first 20 minutes."

But Atsur heated up when it mattered most. After his seven-point run, Hodge made two straight baskets for a 79-62 lead, and the sellout crowd began to file out.

"We knew Maryland was going to make a run," Hodge said, "but no matter what we were not going to lose this game."

NO.10 WASHINGTON 66, WASH. ST. 48: Nate Robinson scored 13 and the Huskies moved into a tie for the Pac-10 lead. Jamaal Williams and Joel Smith came off the bench to each score 10 for the Huskies, who won their 18th straight at home.

BELMONT 67, UCF 52: Will Peeples scored 13 and Belmont overcame an 11-point, first-half deficit. A dunk by Joshua Peppers, who finished with 16, gave the Golden Knights a 20-9 lead with 5:02 left in the first half. But Belmont finished the game on an 18-5 run, including hitting 9 of 10 from the free-throw line the final 3:30, to win its fourth consecutive conference game at home.

LIPSCOMB 68, FLA. ATLANTIC 66: Brian Fisk scored 14 and made a steal as time expired to lift host Lipscomb. Neither team scored in the final 1:40, as the Bisons turned the ball over twice and missed two free throws. FAU finished on a 9-0 run, but missed two layups and a 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

ARMY 63, NAVY 43: Matt Bell scored 20 to help the Black Knights snap an eight-game losing streak and post its largest victory over visiting Navy in 35 years.

[Last modified January 24, 2005, 01:32:09]