Allerik Freeman scored 18 points as North Carolina State used a big burst late in the first half to set the tone in a 78-56 victory over Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon at PNC Arena.

Freeman, a graduate transfer from Baylor, has led N.C. State (2-0) in scoring in both games this season. He scored the Wolfpack's first seven points and had 10 by the time the team built a 15-11 lead.

Charleston Southern went more than seven minutes without a field goal across the middle portion of the first half. Still, the Buccaneers pulled within 25-21 before the Wolfpack closed the half on a 17-0 run.

Sam Hunt, a transfer from North Carolina A&T, drained three 3-pointers during that stretch.

Torin Dorn finished with 14 points, Markell Johnson had 12 points and Omer Yurtseven and Hunt added 11 apiece for N.C. State, which had only nine players in uniform. Yurtseven played only 12 minutes before fouling out.

Phlandrous Fleming hit three 3-point shots in the second half to finish with 17 points for Charleston Southern (0-2), which surrendered 26 baskets from 3-point range in its opener two day earlier in a 110-62 loss at Davidson.

Travis McConico had 14 points for Charleston Southern, which ended up with 24 turnovers.

The Buccaneers committed 14 first-half turnovers and shot 29.2 percent from the field (7 of 24) for the opening 20 minutes.

Charleston Southern cut its deficit to 66-53 with four minutes to play but didn’t score on its next three possessions.

N.C. State played its second game in a row without senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu, who suffered a preseason knee sprain.