RALEIGH, N.C. -- Lorenzo Brown scored 18 of his season-high 24 points after halftime to help No. 25 North Carolina State pull away to beat Stanford 88-79 on Tuesday night.
Scott Wood scored 15 of his 17 in the first half for the Wolfpack (8-2), who earned a fourth straight win with another high-scoring performance at home. It also allowed N.C. State to avenge a road loss last year in which the Wolfpack blew a 12-point lead in the second half.
Richard Howell finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack for his fourth straight double-double.
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Dwight Powell continued his recent strong play for the Cardinal (7-4), scoring 23 points for his fourth 20-point performance in five games. But Stanford gave up its highest point total of the season.
N.C. State, which came in leading the country by shooting nearly 53 percent, finished this one at 56 percent.
It was also another strong offensive showing at home for the Wolfpack, who came in averaging almost 86 points at the PNC Arena. N.C. State is in the middle of a six-game homestand that will keep it in Raleigh until opening Atlantic Coast Conference play at Boston College on Jan. 5.
N.C. State led by just five at the half and 50-42 with about 16 minutes left before Brown got rolling. With the junior point guard attacking the paint more aggressively, the Wolfpack scored on six straight and eight of nine possessions to finally build a cushion.
Brown started the flurry with a score in the lane then added another floater in the lane. Minutes later, he penetrated to find a cutting Howell for a dunk, then scored again in the lane while drawing a foul for a three-point play that pushed N.C. State's lead to 67-50 with 10:32 left.
Stanford got as close as seven with about 5 1/2 minutes left, but Howell answered by muscling his way through the paint for a basket then C.J. Leslie followed with a jumper to push the margin back to double figures.
Brown also came through with a driving basket and a pair of free throws in the final minute that kept N.C. State in control.
Wood had struggled the past two games, going just 2 for 10 from the field and 1 for 7 from behind the arc for eight points. But he broke out of that with five 3-pointers in the first half, including a run of three straight that pushed N.C. State to a 29-20 lead with about 9 minutes left.
Stanford never led.
This was the Cardinal's first true road game of the season. Stanford had played six home games, one against San Francisco in its home state and three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.