Dec. 28, 2006

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Brandon Costner scored all 12 of his points in the second half as North Carolina State rallied to beat East Carolina 64-57 on Thursday night.

Costner hit 3-pointers three separate times, but it wasn't until he hit two of three free throws with 1:37 left that he gave the Wolfpack the lead for good.

East Carolina's bid for its first win in 17 tries against the bigger Wolfpack came up short as the Pirates (4-7) lost for the sixth straight time this season and N.C. State (8-4) snapped a two-game losing streak.

East Carolina played zone defense most of the game and stymied N.C. State's offense. The Wolfpack shot 41.9 percent (18 of 43) in the game and was outrebounded 34-31. But the Wolfpack dominated at the free-throw line, making 21 of 31 attempts, while the Pirates were only 2-of-9.

Jeremy Ingram led the Pirates with a season-high 24 points after getting 18 in the first half.

Ingram and Costner staged their own shooting exhibition in the final nine minutes of the game. Costner twice hit 3s to give N.C. State the lead, but Ingram responded with 3-pointers of his own to help East Carolina pull ahead.

East Carolina's biggest of 34-19 came in the first half after Ingram hit a shot in the lane with about three minutes left. N.C. State came back with a 10-2 run to get within seven at the break.

East Carolina burned two time-outs in the first five minutes of the second half as N.C. State's Ben McCauley began to take over in the middle. He scored eight of the Wolfpack's first 14 points after the break and finished with 20.

Trevor Ferguson, who finally joined the Wolfpack's roster two games ago after sitting out the first semester, missed the game with the flu.