Boise State Broncos at NC State Wolfpack

NC State holds off Boise State 60-54

The Alabama transfer proved his coach right on Friday night, knocking down two huge baskets late in the Wolfpack's 60-54 win against Boise State that secured the program's best start in a decade.

Lacey hit a driving basket with 1:05 left after Boise State had cut a 15-point second-half deficit to a single point, then drained a contested jumper over big man Nick Duncan with 25.2 seconds left on the next possession to keep N.C. State (6-0) in control with a 59-54 lead.

Lacey also rebounded Anthony Drmic's missed 3-pointer on the next possession, providing a do-everything performance late that has N.C. State off to its best start since going 8-0 in the 2004-05 season under Herb Sendek.

"It just comes naturally to me," Lacey said. "I've always had the ball in my hands throughout my career in the last second, not necessarily because I'm going to take the shot, but they know I'm going to make the right play for my team."

Lacey, who sat out last year, finished with six rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal with just one turnover in 38 minutes.

"He had made the switch on the big and we were like, `Do it, go, we know you can hit the shot," point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber said of Lacey's jumper over Duncan. "He stepped up and made the big shot, made the layup and had the rebound. He stepped up big at the end."

The Broncos (4-2) got a surprisingly strong offensive performance from James Webb III, who hadn't scored all year but finished with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

But the rest of the Broncos, particularly high-scoring veteran guards Drmic and Derrick Marks, had a rough night. Boise State shot just 35 percent and went 8-for-28 (29 percent) from 3-point range.

"I thought we got some pretty good looks early that we didn't capitalize on," Boise State coach Leon Rice said. "Probably in the end, you've dug yourself too big of a hole in a game like this."

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TIP-INS

Boise State: Anthony Drmic finished with 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting, while Derrick Marks had seven on 3-for-13 shooting. Each came in shooting at least 45 percent and they averaged a combined 32.4 points.

N.C. State: Ralston Turner finished with 14 points and hit three 3-pointers during a 12-0 first-half run that helped the Wolfpack take a 33-23 lead at the break. ... Kyle Washington led the way on the inside with eight points. ... N.C. State took its biggest lead at 41-26 on BeeJay Anya's dunk at the 16:22 mark.

THE 6-0 START

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said it was too early to make too much of the 6-0 start. "I like where our team is heading," he said. "Love our chemistry."

WEBB'S PERFORMANCE

James Webb III, a 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore, had played just 13 minutes all season and attempted one shot this year. But he made both of his 3-point tries and had four rebounds in 14 minutes, a performance that coach Leon Rice said was "a big step forward."

UP NEXT

Boise State travels to St. Mary's on Dec. 6.

N.C. State plays its first road game at Purdue on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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