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C.J. Leslie had quite possibly the best game of his college career leading the North Carolina State Wolfpack to a 92-63 win over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
The 6-foot-8 junior delivered a career high 33 points to go along with eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Leslie shot 10 for 13 from the field and 13 for 18 from the foul line in the victory.
A year ago Leslie scored with 0.6 seconds remaining to give the Wolfpack a 67-65 victory over St. Bonaventure. He finished with only 12 points in the game and clearly entered this year’s contest looking to make sure things weren’t nearly as close this time around.
The rest of the Wolfpack did their part in ensuring the game wasn’t close either.
Lorenzo Brown showed off his playmaking while taking care of the ball as he finished with seven points, 11 assists, six rebounds, two steals and committed only two turnovers. One of the nation’s best three point shooters, Scott Wood, posted 23 points, four rebounds and three assists going 5 for 7 from downtown. While freshmen T.J. Warren had 13 points and seven rebounds along with Rodney Purvis recording nine points and three assists.
The only negative part of the day for North Carolina State was seeing Richard Howell’s four game double-double streak get snapped. The senior couldn’t shake foul trouble finishing scoreless with five rebounds in 12 minutes before fouling out.
Luckily the Wolfpack didn’t need Howell given the way Leslie looked unstoppable against the Bonnies.
In the five games after the team’s loss to the Michigan Wolverines, Leslie has gone 32 for 44 from the field for an average of 72.7%. He’s the Wolfpack’s most talented player but given the support around him, he hasn’t had to be aggressive in the first two months of the season. He entered the contest against the Bonnies averaging only 8.8 field goal attempts per game, his lowest in his three year career. He also entered the game as the team’s third leading scorer behind Howell and Warren and only 0.3 points up over fourth place Brown.
After the first 30 point game of his career, Leslie now becomes the team’s leading scorer with an average of 15 points per game.
He also showed exactly why so many preseason predictions saw potential in the Wolfpack. The rest of the ACC was put on notice as this could be the exact type of game that raises the forward’s confidence and helps ensure continued dominance. Few teams in the conference right now appear to have what it takes to contain the potential firepower of North Carolina State.
With the front court of Leslie and Howell, along with contributions from freshman Warren down low, the Wolfpack possess an intimidating post presence. Not to mention the perimeter scoring from Wood along with strong guard play from Brown and Purvis.
North Carolina State appears to be getting stronger with every game and the Duke Blue Devils might want to take notice.
Michael covers ACC and Big East basketball along with the Toronto Raptors for Rant Sports, you can follow him on Twitter @MichaelxRoberts
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