North Carolina State 79, San Diego State 65: Richard Howell scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and North Carolina State dominated in the paint against the undersized Aztecs in the NCAA tournament’s Round of 64 in Columbus, Ohio.

Lorenzo Brown had 17 points and C.J. Leslie added 15 for No. 11 seed North Carolina State (23-12), which advances to play either third-seeded Georgetown or 14th-seeded Belmont on Sunday.

Jamaal Franklin scored 23 points, including four 3-pointers, for sixth-seeded San Diego State (26-8), which was outrebounded 30-25. Franklin, Chase Tapley (19) and James Rahon (11) combined to score 53 of San Diego State’s 65 total points.

Leading by four at halftime, North Carolina State extended its lead to 10 with 5:33 to play after scoring six straight. The Wolfpack shot 57.4 percent (31 of 54) from the field while holding San Diego State to 37.7 percent.

Howell picked up his fourth foul with 9:45 to go, and the Aztecs responded with a brief run before North Carolina State regained control down the stretch. Howell’s 22 points were his most since he scored 15 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 11.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Diego State fell to 2-8 all-time in the NCAA tournament… The Wolfpack have outscored opposing teams in the paint in eight straight games…North Carolina State’s Scott Wood, who led the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage (41.1), finished with 10 points and one 3-pointer…Tapley went scoreless in the first half before making seven of his 13 shots in the second half.