DAYTON, Ohio -- Given a second chance, T.J. Warren put on a show in the NCAA tournament. The hard-to-guard sophomore forward scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was the ACCs player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournaments First Four. N.C. State (22-12) didnt have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to Orlando, Fla., for a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional. Warren had the most to do with it. He made up for a freshman tournament flop on the same floor a year earlier and prevented Xavier (21-14) from getting any traction in the second half. "Hes just a great player," coach Mark Gottfried said. "Its hard to keep him down for a whole 40 minutes." Centre Matt Stainbrook led Xavier with 19 points and nine rebounds despite an injured left knee. Leading scorer Semaj Christon was limited to 14 points, and Xavier made only 2 of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Xavier was playing in a familiar arena less than an hour from campus. Familiar, but not entirely friendly. Fans of the Dayton Flyers -- a long-time rival -- booed loudly as they took the court, making for a mixed welcome with a lot of Musketeer fans in the stands as well. Warren made it all a moot point, helping N.C. State take all the drama out of the game over the final 11 minutes. Ralston Turner added 17 points. The Wolfpack went six years between NCAA appearances before Gottfried got them there three years in a row. This was his youngest and least-experienced team: Only two players with tournament experience. They got one of the final at-large bids with a strong closing run, winning five of their last six games, including an upset of Syracuse in the ACC tournament. Warren was the key. And he really wanted a second chance at the NCAA tournament. As a freshman last year, he managed only four points as N.C. State lost to Temple 76-72 at the University of Dayton Arena in its opening game. Hes grown a lot in one year, leading the ACC with 24.8 points per game this season and hitting the 40-point mark twice. He got off to a bad start on Tuesday, missing his first two shots and picking up two fouls in the first 4 minutes, 14 seconds. Warren checked back into the game and hit a jumper for his first points at the 11:29 mark. Christon, who was Warrens roommate at Brewster Academy for one year, kept the Musketeers in it during the first half. He scored off two drives to the basket, starting an 8-1 run. Stainbrooks reverse layup trimmed it to 27-26 with 2:22 left. Jordan Vandenbergs three-point play gave N.C. State a 34-28 advantage at halftime. Dee Davis hit Xaviers first 3-pointer, and Christon scored on a fast-break lay-in that cut it to 39-37. Thats when Warren took over. He had a pair of pull-up jumpers, followed by a steal and a lay-up as N.C. State rebuilt the lead to 51-42. He had another pull-up jumper and a fast-break dunk that made it 57-47 with 7:56 to go. Xavier never got closer than seven points the rest of the way, fading down the stretch. The biggest question for Xavier was how Stainbrooks left knee would hold up. The Big Easts second-leading rebounder sprained a ligament, sat out the final regular season game and was extremely limited in two Big East conference games. He was back in form, but Xavier didnt have enough other scoring options to keep up. Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . -- Mixed martial arts fighter Cristiane Justino Santos has been suspended and fined for testing positive for steroids. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . 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Tuesdays result means Canadas 16-game winless streak that dates back to October 2012 remains intact as the team still searches for its first win in seven games under Floros leadership. Still, Floro said he was pleased with aspects of Canadas game. "I am happy because the team is progressing, and the players are happy because they can see the progress," he said. "For us it isnt important to be looking at the results right now, that will take time." Things got off to poor start for Canada when Moldovas Eugeniu Sidorenco, left unmarked in the penalty area, nodded the ball past Canadian goalie Milan Borjan in the seventh minute. The goal came from what was seemingly a non-threatening position for Moldova, but the Canadian pairing of Adam Straith and Andre Hainault in central defence allowed Sidorenco too much space in front of the goal. With Canada having only scored one goal in the last 14 months, it looked early on as if it could be a long evening in the Austrian rain for Floros side. But striker Tosaint Ricketts found himself in the right place at the right time to tie the game just two minutes later. Pedro Pacheco floated a corner to the back post where Hainault rose the highest to nod it back in front of the goal to Ricketts, who kicked it home from five yards out. "It always feels great to score for your country,&qquot; Ricketts said.dddddddddddd "Floro has been driving home tactical set-pieces and corners and we executed well." The game then settled and it wasnt until Atiba Hutchinson hit the crossbar late in the first half that either team came close to scoring again. Canadian right-back Nik Ledgerwood curled a bending free kick towards the back post where Hutchinson used his thigh to nudge a shot toward the goal, but it hit the top of the bar. Following the halftime break it was Canada who asserted the control of the game, stringing together some tidy possession without ever really threatening to penetrate the well-organized Moldovan defence. The Moldovans produced the best two chances of the second half on the counter-attack. Alexandru Antoniuc forced a big save from Borjan with a firm drive midway through the second half, before Eugeniu Cebotaru fired a dangerous shot just wide of the left post from 22 yards. Despite dominating possession throughout the final stage of the game, Canada was unable to carve out a clear-cut opportunity. Addressing Canadas long-standing offensive woes, Floro said he is on the hunt for fresh attacking talent. "We have to find a away to keep creating more chances and we will continue looking for another striker who can come in and help Ricketts and Simeon Jackson," Floro said. Canada is ranked 110th in the world to Moldovas 99th. Canada had been looking to notch its first win since a 3-0 win over Cuba towards the end of its futile World Cup Qualifying campaign in October 2012. The Canadian team will now disband for the summer ahead of its return to home turf for Septembers friendly against Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto. ' ' '