By MIKE POTTER : mpotter@heraldsun.com
Nov 18, 2006 : 1:16 am ET 

Bryan Ayala hadn't had a scoring night like that since high school. 

But the N.C. Central point guard definitely got his season off on the right foot, and it carried over to the rest of the team. 

The sophomore had career highs of 33 points and nine assists, leading the Eagles to a 95-82 win over Columbus State in the season opener for both teams in the BC Powder Classic on Friday night at McLendon-McDougald Gym. 

The result spoiled Doug Branson's debut game as the Cougars' head coach. 

In the opening game of the doubleheader, Barton topped St. Augustine's 106-102 in overtime. 

Chris Mayshack added a career-high 17 points as the Eagles placed five players in double figures. Drew Johnson and Jason Hervey -- playing his first regular-season game since suffering a knee injury in February of 2005 -- added 11 points each, while senior transfer Geoffrey Hansley had 10 points and eight rebounds in his first game with the Eagles. 

"It's just one game, but [Ayala] is a competitor," NCCU coach Henry Dickerson said. "He played 39 minutes, but the way he was playing I'm sure he didn't get tired. 

"And Mayshack has learned his role. We don't want dribble penetration from him. The way he can help us win is to shoot. 

Ayala's previous career high was 17 points in a 74-61 loss to Johnson C. Smith here on Feb. 25. He said his high school career high was 37 at Granby High in Norfolk, Va. 

Quipped Brandon, "We made him [Ayala] an All-American tonight." 

The 33 points were the most scored by an Eagles player since Johnson poured in 27 in a 78-75 win on Feb. 7 at Fayetteville State. 

"I wasn't keeping track of the points," said Ayala, who was 14-for-18 from the free-throw line. "I just kept playing hard. I thought we played pretty well for a first game." 

Ayala's 14 points at the free-throw line were the third most in one game in NCCU history. The record of 16 was set by Willie Jennette on Jan. 7, 1986 at Shaw. 

Mayshack's previous career high had been 14, here on Jan. 7 in a 75-70 win over Fayetteville State. 

"I was just feeling it ..." said Mayshack, who hit five 3-pointers. "We played good defense tonight and came up with a lot of long rebounds." 

Columbus State, which played in the NCAA Division II Tournament in the spring, split a pair of games with N.C. Central last season. The Eagles won here 93-50 on Dec. 10 in the worst defeat in CSU history, but fell 70-60 at the Cougars' Lumpkin Center 20 days later. 

That home game against the Cougars was the last time NCCU, which finished 10-18 last season, had surpassed the 90-point plateau. It was the most points by the team since a 97-65 win over Winston-Salem State here Feb. 18, 2004. 

NCCU shot exactly 50 percent from the floor to 37.8 for CSU, outrebounded the Cougars 48-33 and was 32-for-41 from the line to the visitors' 17-for-25. 

"Those are our goals, to shoot 50 percent and hold the other team to under 40," Dickerson said. 

The Eagles led 48-38 at halftime behind 12 points from Mayshack -- all on 3-pointers -- and 10 from Ayala. The 10-point lead was the largest of the first half. 

The Eagles' largest lead was 18 points, at 72-54 on a Mayshack 3-pointer with 9:41 to play. Columbus State's closest approach in the second half was seven points, at 89-82 on a Robinson layup with 58.9 left.. 

In the opener Barton (2-0) got 32 points from Alejo Barovero, followed by 29 from Anthony Atkinson and 23 from Bobby Buffaloe. 

Nicholas King led the way with 30 points for St. Aug's (0-1), followed by 26 from Antonio Fitzgerald and 25 from Claude Neeley. 

Barton, the defending NCAA Division II East Regional champion, shot 51.4 percent from the floor to 43.8 for the Falcons, who made up for that by shooting 76.9 percent from the line to 63.0 for the Bulldogs. 

There were seven lead changes and four ties in the second 20 minutes, with Fitzgerald forcing the overtime by tying the score at 85-85 on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.9 on the clock. 

NOTES -- Today's second-round games have St. Aug's taking on Columbus State at 4 p.m., followed by the Eagles against Barton at 6 p.m. … Following today's contest, the Eagles' next game is at East Carolina Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. … The Eagles will return the visit to Columbus State on Dec. 30 in the CSU Holiday Classic.