ond that you get in practice and workouts. Even though it can be really ha

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It was supposed to be Dennis Smith Jr.s coming-out party, but his fellow starters joined him as guests of honor.Terry Henderson scored 23 points to help North Carolina State beat Georgia Southern 81-79 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.All five starters scored in double figures for the Wolfpack, who won despite shooting 4 of 24 from 3-point range.We all made key plays down the stretch that we needed to win, N.C. State guard Torin Dorn said.Maverick Rowan scored 17 points for N.C. State and Abdul-Malik Abu had 15 points and 11 rebounds.Dorn added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolfpack. He scored in the lane with 3:47 left to put N.C. State ahead for good at 68-67.It can be anybodys night, Henderson said. It doesnt just have to be my night. It can be Torins night, Dennis night. Weve got so many weapons.Tookie Brown had 26 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to lead Georgia Southern. Ike Smith added 20 points for the Eagles.Smith, the highly touted freshman point guard, scored 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field for N.C. State.Georgia Southern led 66-60 with just over six minutes to play, but N.C. State answered with a 10-1 run to seize control.BIG PICTUREGeorgia Southern: It was an impressive effort by the Eagles, who scrapped their way to 20 offensive rebounds and appear ready to improve on their 14-17 record from last season.N.C. State: The Wolfpack are off to a nice start after A rough beginning a year ago, when they dropped their opener and lost Henderson to a season-ending ankle injury just six minutes into the game.SHOOTING BLANKSThe Eagles missed the shooting touch of guard Mike Hughes, who is suspended for the first three games after finishing second on the team in scoring last season. They made just 5 of 22 3-point attempts and 20 of 32 free throws. Still, Georgia Southern, which set a school record for 3-pointers a year ago, almost pulled the upset. That was encouraging, coach Mark Byington said. We were close to winning in a different way than our normal recipe.N.C. State was even worse from 3-point range. The Wolfpack missed their final 16 3-point attempts, including all nine in the second half.HIGHLIGHT REELSmith threw a no-look lob over his shoulder to Abu for a two-handed dunk in the first half. The alley oop brought rap star J. Cole, a close friend of Smith, out of his courtside seat for a brief celebration. The play gave N.C. State a 30-20 lead, but the Wolfpack went without a basket for the next five minutes.QUICK COMPAREBrown, the reigning Sun Belt rookie of the year, provided a stiff test for Smith, the favorite to win the award in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Both guards wear No. 4, and both played 36 minutes. In addition to his efforts chasing down rebounds, Brown finished with three assists and no turnovers. Smith, who briefly left the game in the second half after taking a knee to his thigh, added five assists and just one turnover.ELIGIBILITY WATCHN.C. State freshman Ted Kapita has been ruled eligible for competition by the NCAA. N.C. State learned of the decision before the game. Kapita, a 6-8 forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is eligible to play on Sunday.UP NEXTGeorgia Southern hosts NAIA opponent Coastal Georgia on Monday. Its one of just two home games that the Eagles play in their first 12 contests.N.C. State hosts St. Francis on Sunday in the season opener for the Terriers. Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys Cheap . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Custom Minnesota Wild Jerseys Cheap . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. http://www.hockeyjerseyscustom.com/custom-columbus-blue-jackets-jerseys-cheap-313k . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Custom Jerseys Wholesale . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Perry Hills leads the Big Ten in completion percentage and has proven to be invaluable for Maryland as a passer, rusher and senior leader.All of those positives are wasted on Hills, who cant help lamenting the injuries that prevented him from thoroughly enjoying his final season with the Terrapins.Hills has missed two games and was knocked out of two others. Thats his takeaway from a season in which he has thrown 10 touchdown passes and carried Maryland (5-6, 2-6) to the brink of bowl eligibility.Its been pretty rewarding, Hills said Tuesday, but the frustration sets in because you keep saying, `What if? What if?Coming off a season in which he threw 13 interceptions compared to eight TD passes, Hills won the starting job over the summer for first-year coach DJ Durkin. The Terrapins got off to a 4-0 start before Hills hurt his right shoulder in the first half at Penn State.Maryland lost that game, then fell at home to Minnesota with an injured Hills watching from the sideline.Hills returned to beat Michigan State, but two weeks later was injured at Michigan. He started the following week against Ohio State but left in the first quarter with a left shoulder injury.I went in the locker room and said, `Man, God must not want me to play. Im already going through one bad shoulder and hes going to go out and try and give me another, Hills said. It was definitely heart-wrenching. Its like, anything that can go wrong has gone wrong. What on earth?Hills could not recover to face Nebraska last week , and his status for Saturdays home game against Rutgers (2-9, 0-8) is uncertain.I look for Perry to continue to improve this week, get him back healthy and hopefully go out there and help our senior class go get a win, Durkin said.All five of Marylands victories this season have come with Hills in the starting lineup, whicch says as much about his effectiveness as his 66.dddddddddddd7 percent completion percentage.As goes Hills, so go the Terps. Three other quarterbacks have stepped in during his absence, combining for three TD passes, five interceptions and nary a victory.If Hills had stayed healthy, who knows? Maryland probably would have already sewn up a bowl berth and Hills could look back on his final college season with no remorse.Hes certainly fought through a lot of things, Durkin said. You wish he was healthier throughout the whole year. His year would be way more reflective of the type of player and young man he is. In many ways our team and our season would have reflected that, too.Funny thing is, with the exception of a torn ACL as a freshman, Hills has been impervious to injury at Maryland -- until this year.Its definitely been frustrating, he said. Last year I took a lot more hits and didnt really get injured.On a day Maryland bids farewell to its seniors and seeks to earn a bowl berth, his teammates want Hills in the huddle.I came in with Perry and Ive seen him grow so much over the past five years, offensive lineman Michael Dunn said. Hes been through a lot over that time. To have the opportunity to finish his career off with a win over Rutgers and go to a bowl game, that would be a special moment.Hills heads toward the weekend uncertain exactly when his career will end -- or if hes already taken his last snap in a game situation.Nothings given, he said. So you just have to go out and enjoy every second that you get in practice and workouts. Even though it can be really hard sometimes, Im going to really miss it.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '