The NC State men’s basketball team defeated Campbell 69-50 Saturday, Dec. 19 at PNC Arena in its last game before ACC play. 

Whatever NC State (4-1) head coach Kevin Keatts told his team at halftime worked as the Wolfpack outscored the Camels (4-2) by 17 points in the second half after going into intermission with just a two-point lead.

NC State was led offensively by junior forward Jericole Hellems, who had a season-high 19 points in the victory. Senior guard Devon Daniels and redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates were also in double figures for NC State with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Bates also picked up his 100th and 101st career block during the game. 

“Manny is a prime example of what the program is about,” Keatts said. “… It’s a testament to how hard he has worked and my coaching staff on helping develop him.”

The Wolfpack dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Camels 44-23, controlling the inside. Daniels led the team with eight rebounds.

“If we don’t rebound, there is no fast break, and that’s part of who we are,” Daniels said. “So as a team, we are really focused on that area.”

Out of the gate, the Wolfpack and Camels were each sluggish offensively. At the first media timeout, both teams combined to shoot two of 13 from the field. 

Neither team could find rhythm early on, keeping the teams neck-and-neck. However, midway through the first half, the Camels started getting comfortable on offense, stringing together a 9-2 run that gave them a seven-point lead.

NC State battled back to gain the lead 30-28 right before halftime as the Camels did not make a field goal in the final three minutes of the first half. 

In what was a ugly half of basketball, Hellems kept his team in the game. The St. Louis native was the only player on the court in double digits at the break with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. After the game, Hellems described himself as the “energy guy” for the team.

“Whatever I can do to get the guys going is what I am going to do,” Hellems said.

At certain points in the first half, both teams struggled to keep hold of the basketball. Campbell had 10 turnovers while NC State had nine at the half. With sloppy play all around, it was still anybody’s game in the second half. 

NC State came out strong to start the second half, making four of its first five shots to jump out to a 39-30 lead. 

The Wolfpack turned up the heat on defense, which led to success on the offensive side of the ball. An 11-0 run over 4:05 of game time put the contest out of reach for the Camels, who gave NC State a lot of problems in the first 20 minutes of the game. 

The run peaked at 19-1 in favor of the Wolfpack, pushing its lead to 22 midway through the second half. 

With the game in control, Keatts gave freshman forwards Nick Farrar and Jaylon Gibson some playing time toward the end of the game. Farrar got his first buckets as a college basketball player, registering five points. 

For the second straight game, NC State was missing two key players due to COVID-19 contact tracing in senior forward D.J. Funderburk and freshman guard Cam Hayes. Due to this, the Wolfpack only had nine players suit up against the Camels and only seven players who played significant minutes.

Keatts said after the game he does not know when Funderburk and Hayes will be cleared and able to play. 

Next, NC State will host rival UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday Dec. 22 for its first ACC tilt of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. on ACC Network. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live analysis from PNC Arena.