RALEIGH, N.C. _ It almost happened again.
A year after losing its season-opener to William & Mary, N.C. State almost lost to Georgia Southern.
Almost, but senior guard Terry Henderson wouldn't let it happen. Henderson scored 23 points to lift N.C. State to an 81-79 win over the Eagles on Friday night.
It was not supposed to be this close, not with a healthy Henderson, who was injured in the William & Mary loss last year, and the debut of freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr., but Georgia Southern kept pushing and fighting until the final buzzer.
Georgia Southern, with all five starters back from a team that went 10-10 in Sun Belt play last season, wouldn't let N.C. State run away after falling behind by 13 points in the first 10 minutes.
The Eagles cut N.C. State's lead to one point at the half (37-36) and then traded baskets with the Wolfpack throughout the second half and led by as many as six points (66-60 at 6:26 in the second half).
Sophomore guard Ike Smith scored 20 points and was aggressive in taking N.C. State sophomore Maverick Rowan off the dribble to the basket.
Forward Shawn O'Connell (seven rebounds) was relentless inside and guard Tookie Brown had a game-high 26 points.
N.C. State had a scare early in the second half Smith Jr. left the court after it appeared he took a knee to his left thigh on a baseline drive.
The Wolfpack made an 8-2 push without Smith on the floor and took a 54-51 lead but the Eagles kept coming.
A dunk by O'Connell and then four straight points by Brown gave the Eagles a 63-58 lead with 7:18 left in the game.
But a layup by Torin Dorn (12 points, 11 rebounds) at 3:47 gave N.C. State the lead for good. Henderson made six free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
N.C. State seemed intent on burying last year's season-opening loss to William & Mary in the first 10 minutes on Friday.
The Wolfpack scored the first nine points of the game and led 25-12 after a second consecutive basket from Dorn at 10:06.
N.C. State was able to move the ball around Georgia Southern's zone and find some weak spots. Henderson was hot early and the passing was crisp.
But the Eagles made a quick 8-0 run to cut the lead to 25-20 on a dunk by Ike Smith at 8:23.
N.C. State responded with a 3 from Henderson and then an alley-oop from Smith Jr. to Abdul-Malik Abu to push its advantage back to double digits, 30-20.
But the Eagles were the aggressor in the final 10 minutes of the half and N.C. State didn't respond to their physical play.
Georgia Southern outscored N.C. State 24-12 over the last 10 minutes of the half. A free throw by Henderson with 4.2 seconds left was the only difference between the two teams.
