Redshirt senior guard Devon Daniels put up a career-high 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds for a double-double, and the NC State men’s basketball team put together a strong defensive performance to roll over Charles Southern 95-61 in the first game of the 2020-21 season.
The Wolfpack (1-0) forced 32 turnovers and had 18 steals, which were the most in a game since head coach Kevin Keatts has been at NC State.
“I’m excited about how hard we played,” Keatts said. “I thought after halftime we adjusted. Our press was very effective… I thought our defense was really good.”
The first half was close for the first 15 minutes, as both teams held the lead at one point before NC State went on an 11-2 run to end the half to take a 43-31 margin into the locker rooms. The Pack saw action from many of its newcomers, including most of its highly touted recruiting class and players who redshirted last season, but it was the veterans, Daniels and redshirt senior D.J. Funderburk, that led the way. In the first 20 minutes, Daniels dropped 20 points and Funderburk had 10.
“We had a lot of fun tonight,” Daniels said. “…We didn’t even know if we were going to have a season, so this is truly a blessing and I’m grateful for it.”
From the jump, the Pack played its usual tight, in-your-face defense with a full-court press that forced 18 turnovers in the first half alone. The Pack was able to capitalize off those Charleston Southern miscues with 21 points of turnovers.
NC State opened up the lead in the second half, going on a 19-0 run between roughly the 18-minute mark and the 12-minute mark to take a 64-36 lead. Most of the points within that run came from senior guard Braxton Beverly, who hit a 3-pointer and took a hard fall on his back after getting fouled on a fast-break layup. The senior struggled through back issues most of last season, but he got right up after his fall, knocked down two free throws and hit a 3 on the next possession.
“That was my main focus this offseason: to get healthy,” Beverly said. “… I feel good now. I feel comfortable and I feel healthy.”
Overall, the Pack was efficient from the floor and from beyond the arc, shooting 52.2% from the field and 47.8% from 3-point range.
The game was played in Reynolds Coliseum, which in the past has been a jam-packed, rocking atmosphere, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the game was played without its usual amount of spectators.
“The fans bring so much support,” Daniels said. “Without them, we had to bring our own energy, and it wasn’t hard. We all love playing basketball.”
This was the debut of a number of highly ranked NC State freshmen, four of its five newcomers were in action. Freshman guard Cam Hayes scored his first bucket after getting a steal that led to a fast-break dunk early in the first half and finished with four points. Freshman guard Shakeel Moore scored nine points that included a nice fast-break flush near the end of the game, and freshmen forwards Jaylon Gibson and Ebenezer Duwuona each scored a bucket.
“I was real anxious when Coach Keatts called my name,” Hayes said. “But once I got out there and I got that steal, I had a sigh of relief when I got that first bucket. After that, I was calm.”
Redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen got the start tonight in his first game in an NC State uniform after transferring from Nebraska, and he finished with five points and two steals. Also playing in his first game for the Pack was redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron, who had a couple of nice dunks in the second half to finish with seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting.
If there are any takeaways from the game, it’s that the Pack is deep and will be playing a lot of its full-court press defense throughout the season. NC State is back in action on Friday, Nov. 27 as it takes on North Florida at 5:30 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum.
N.C. State's Devon Daniels (24) drives around Charleston Southern's Sean Price (23) during the first half in N.C. State’s game against Charleston Southern in the Wolfpack Invitational at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020.
