No. 23 N.C. State takes first loss of season, falls to Seton Hall 85-74

LAHAINA, Hawaii (WTVD) — A mistake-prone N.C. State team suffered its first loss under Will Wade on Monday afternoon, losing to Seton Hall 85-74 in its opening game at the Maui Invitational.

The No. 23 Wolfpack trailed 35-33 at halftime before falling behind by double digits for much of the second half as the Pirates opened the second stanza with a 16-2 run.

The Pirates (6-0) led the Wolfpack (4-1) for all but the first three minutes, going up by as many as 18 points.

A.J. Staton-McCray scored 22 points to lead Seton Hall.

Staton-McCray shot 7 of 11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.

Mike Williams scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, Elijah Fisher and Adam Clark added 13 points apiece, Tajuan Simpkins 11 and Najai Hines 10 for Seton Hall, which shot 29 of 56 (51.8%) from the field and 20 of 24 (83.3%) on free throws.

Ven-Allen Lubin led N.C. State with 16 points and nine rebounds. Star forward Darrion Williams, plagued by foul trouble for most of the game, finished with 12 points.

Freshman Matt Able added 15 points off the bench. Tre Holloman added 11 points for the Wolfpack.

Seton Hall took its largest lead at 69-51 when Staton-McCray knocked down both ends of a one-and-one bonus with 7:26 left to play.

The Pirates recorded nine blocks and scored 19 points off turnovers. They held a 22-7 advantage over the Wolfpack in fast-break points.

N.C. State entered the game averaging 100.8 points per game. Seton Hall held its first five opponents to 54.6 points per game, the third-best mark nationally.

Seton Hall will next play Southern Cal, which beat Boise State 70-67 on Monday in a semifinal, while N.C. State will meet Boise State in a consolation game on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed.