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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — There's a long list of things that North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried figures his young team will improve on as the season wears on.
It includes how to play with a lead and put a team away.
Sophomore Torin Dorn had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help N.C. State beat Boston University 77-73 on Saturday, though the Wolfpack blew a 13-point first-half lead then squandered much of a 16-point lead in the final 9 minutes to end up with a two-possession margin.
"I feel like once we get somebody down," Dorn said, "we have to get them out of here."
Terry Henderson added 23 points for the Wolfpack (6-2), who fell behind briefly early in the second half before going on a 17-3 run to go back ahead by double figures.
But the Wolfpack had its troubles, from some repeated defensive mistakes to sputtering at times against a zone defense and missing a lot of second-half free throws that could have protected the big lead.
Henderson, a senior, said he sensed the team "playing lackadaisical sometimes" as a possible explanation for the trouble holding the lead.
"They're going to learn and the best way they're going to learn is to get them right in the fire, just like they're doing right now," Gottfried said. "I'd love to blow every team out by 25 points. That would be wonderful. We've got a young team that's going to get better and they're going to get better every day. We're going to figure it out."
Eric Fanning scored 16 points to lead BU (4-4), who took a 44-42 lead on Kyle Foreman's drive with 16:25 left. But freshman Markell Johnson answered with a 3-pointer, then the Wolfpack scored on six straight possessions to go back up by double figures.
"I thought just little things, in terms of attention to detail, we weren't sharp on," BU coach Joe Jones said. "You're going to have to be sharper than that to beat this type of team."
BIG PICTURE
Boston U: The Terriers keep sticking with their balanced-offense formula that could help them withstand some tough shooting days once they reach Patriot League play. While Fanning led the way, Tyler Scanlon (15 points), Justin Alston (12) and Cheddi Mosely (12) all hit double figures, too.
"I was pleased we didn't fold," Jones said of his team's response to falling behind by 16.
N.C. State: Defense remains a major question for a young team that's still taking shape. Four days after allowing Illinois to shoot 68 percent after halftime, N.C. State allowed BU to shoot 56 percent in the second half — including one possession that saw Scanlon pump-fake the Wolfpack's Abdul-Malik Abu off the floor at the 3-point arc and dribble all the way to the rim for an uncontested layup.
"We got better in my opinion from last game," Gottfried said.
TIP-INS
Boston U: Jones, in his sixth year, fell to 2-1 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents at BU, the last being a win at current Big Ten member Maryland in December 2013. ... The Terriers shot 7 of 28 (25 percent) from 3-point range. ... BU scored all 12 of its points off turnovers after halftime. ... BU made 12 of 23 free throws (52 percent) for the game. ... Kyle Foreman had nine assists.
N.C. State: Freshman Ted Kapita made his first career start, posting six points and five rebounds before fouling out in 17 minutes. ... Dorn matched his career high for rebounds. ... Fellow rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 15 points, including an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Johnson during the go-ahead run. ... The Wolfpack shot just 13 of 23 from the foul line (57 percent) after halftime.
UP NEXT
Boston U: The Terriers host Canisius on Wednesday night.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack emerges from a weeklong exam break to face Tennessee State in the program's former campus home, the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 10.
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