RALEIGH, NC North Carolina State had five players in double figures led by Tony Bethel's 20 points as it improved to 12-1 on the season with a 83-52 win over UNC Greensboro in men's basketball action at the RBC Center on Tuesday night.

The Spartans (7-7) got 18 points from sophomore forward Kyle Hines on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Junior guard Ricky Hickman added 13 points for his 11th game in double figures this season and four steals.

“They move the ball well and shoot it well from nearly every position on the floor,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “If they can get open looks, they will hit their shots. They are a great team and they are going to have a great year.

“I don't think we played as well as we did against Duke (on Saturday). Maybe there's been a little too much ACC for us, as far as where we are as a team right now. We're a little worn out. We had a lot of opportunities tonight from some of our guys that have been giving us a lot of minutes. That only led to more opportunities for North Carolina State.”

The Wolfpack came out hot. North Carolina State, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, knocked down 7 of their first 10 shots from the floor to open up a 16-4 lead in the game's first seven minutes. Hickman converted a conventional three-point play for the Spartans two minutes later to pull them back to within seven, 16-9.

UNCG, which lost its fourth in a row, was plagued by turnovers, however. The Spartans committed 12 in the first half and 20 for the game. The Pack converted those miscues into 33 points, including 17 in the first half.

Three turnovers in four possessions by the Spartans led to North Carolina State's 12-2 run to break the game open, 28-11. The Wolfpack were not threatened after that.

North Carolina State shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the second half and 54.5 percent for the game. The Wolfpack also held a commanding 36-18 advantage on the glass, including 13 on the offensive end that led to 18 second chance points.

UNCG resumes Southern Conference play on Saturday when it visits Chattanooga for a 2 pm contest that will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

AGATE

NC STATE 83, UNC GREENSBORO 52

UNC GREENSBORO (7-7)

Hines, Kyle 7-11 4-6 18; Hickman, Ricky 5-8 2-3 13; Tooms, Bart 3-4 2-2 9; Johnson, Dwayne 3-3 0-0 6; McClenny, David 1-3 2-5 5; Beckford, Brian 0-2 1-2 1; Akinosho, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; Boddie, Devin 0-2 0-0 0; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-5 0-0 0; Campbell, Marc 0-0 0-0 0; Simmons, Everson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 11-18 52.

NC STATE (12-1)

Bethel, Tony 8-9 1-1 20; Simmons, Cedric 5-7 7-8 18; Atsur, Engin 6-9 0-0 16; Bennerman, Cameron 6-11 1-1 14; Brackman, Andrew 4-9 2-2 12; Grant, Gavin 1-4 1-2 3; McCauley, Ben 0-0 0-0 0; Nieman, Bryan 0-1 0-0 0; Albritton, Braxton 0-0 0-0 0; McCoy, Chris 0-0 0-0 0; Fells, Courtney 0-3 0-0 0; Evtimov, Ilian 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 12-14 83.

Halftime: NC State 46-27. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 3-12 (McClenny, David 1-2; Tooms, Bart 1-1; Hickman, Ricky 1-2; Boddie, Devin 0-2; Oleksiak, Kevin 0-3; Simmons, Everson 0-2), NC State 11-29 (Atsur, Engin 4-6; Bethel, Tony 3-4; Brackman, Andrew 2-4; Simmons, Cedric 1-1; Bennerman, Cameron 1-5; Nieman, Bryan 0-1; Fells, Courtney 0-3; Evtimov, Ilian 0-2; Grant, Gavin 0-3). Fouled out-UNC Greensboro-None, NC State-None. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 18 (McClenny, David

4), NC State 36 (Simmons, Cedric 8). Assists-UNC Greensboro 10 (Hickman, Ricky 3; Johnson, Dwayne 3), NC State 20 (Evtimov, Ilian 5). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 16, NC State 17. A-12211.                                                                     

- UNCG -

SIDELINES: Freshman David McClenny returned to his hometown of Raleigh and made his first career start. He finished with five points and four rebounds... the two teams met for the first time since Dec. 5, 2000 when the Wolfpack won in the final seconds, 77-76... the game was UNCG's second straight against a Top 25-ranked team. The Spartans also played back-to-back ranked opponents in 2002-03 when they faced No. 10 Missouri and No. 25 Maryland in consecutive contests... Hines had made seven straight field goals at one point, including his first six against North Carolina State, before he had a shot blocked three minutes into the second half... For the second straight game, UNCG shot above 50 percent for much of the night until a late drought. This time, the Spartans went the last five minutes without a field goal.