The Wolfpack pulled away late after a tightly contested first half to open the 2010-11 season with an 82-69 victory over Tennessee Tech Friday night at the RBC Center.

Easily the most anticipated freshman class of coach Sidney Lowe’s tenure led the way, as Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie combined for 51 of the Pack’s 82 points. With 21 from Leslie, 16 from Harrow and 14 from Brown, the Pack’s young trio accounted for the game’s top three scorers for either team.

But the heroics by the three newest members of the Pack didn’t come in a cakewalk.

The Wolfpack led Tennessee Tech just 37-34 going into the half as Leslie led the way offensively with 13 first half points.

In a bit of a surprise to anyone who watched him dominate on the offensive end throughout most of his junior season, senior forward Tracy Smith left the court for halftime without scoring before pouring in 10 second half points.

The scoreboard wasn’t the only thing that reflected the evenly played nature of the Pack’s first half of the season. Tech shot 37.5 percent from the floor while State converted 37.9 percent of its first half field goals. From behind the arc, both teams were relatively cold, with the Pack making two of nine and the Eagles knocking down three of seven three point attempts. Both teams also pulled down 19 first half rebounds, with six of the Pack’s coming on the offensive glass, compared to seven offensive boards by the visitors.

But State picked up the pace after the break, outscoring the Golden Eagles 45-35 over the final 20 minutes.