DJ Horne fuels NC State past winless Detroit Mercy

DJ Horne pumped in 26 points to help host North Carolina State enter a brief break with an 83-66 victory against winless Detroit Mercy on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.

Horne made 9 of 15 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. The rest of the Wolfpack were 3-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Ben Middlebrooks scored 11 points off the bench, while DJ Burns Jr. and Dennis Parker Jr. scored 10 points apiece as the Wolfpack (9-3) improved to 7-0 at home.

For Detroit Mercy (0-13), reserve Donovann Toatley poured in 21 points and Marcus Tankersley scored 20 on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. Edoardo Del Cadia added 10 points for the Titans, who played without team scoring leader Jayden Stone for the second straight game due to an ankle injury.

NC State shot 50 percent from the field, although it nearly had the same percentage on free throws (10 of 19).

The Titans, who shot 4-for-19 from 3-point range, were charged with 16 turnovers compared to only seven for the Wolfpack.

Eleven different players reached the scoring column for NC State.

Much like on Wednesday night against Saint Louis, the Wolfpack were slow in putting the game out of reach. The halftime score was 43-36.

NC State scored the first nine points of the second half, while it took Detroit Mercy nearly four minutes before denting the scoreboard. The margin swelled to 64-46 with about 12 minutes remaining.

Detroit Mercy had trouble keeping up, perhaps in part because it played Thursday night at Central Michigan and had a relatively short turnaround in addition to travel. The team began the week on the West Coast.

NC State has won all four games in the series.

—Field Level Media