In its first truly competitive game of the season, the NC State men’s basketball team escaped with a 78-74 win over Mercer Saturday evening in PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack (6-0) won its first five games of the season by an average of 38.8 points, with the closest win being 19 points. It was a different story Saturday against the Bears (3-3), as Mercer lost by just four after an outstanding second half and was within striking distance the entire game.
“We needed a game where we had to finish the game. The first five games we played were a little lopsided,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “It gives me the opportunity to now watch the tape with those guys and talk about end of the game situations. We coach it, we practice it, we talk about it but if you don’t experience it during a game it’s tough.”
Mercer point guard Djordje Dimitrijevic led all scorers with 25 points, and was a problem for the Wolfpack defense all game. The NC State guard trio of redshirt senior Torin Dorn, redshirt junior C.J. Bryce and junior Markell Johnson led the way for the Pack, each scoring more than 15. Dorn led the way with 19 points, to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.
“We are always excited to win a game,” Dorn said. “Anytime you can get a win it is definitely good for your team. We are always excited about wins. Wish we could have did it a little different. You know we ain’t going away, but a win is a win.”
NC State struggled mightily at the charity stripe, going shooting just 55.2 percent from the free-throw line for the game. The Pack left 13 free points on the table at the line in a four point game, something it can’t do against better opponents.
“First close game we’ve had this season,” Bryce said. “It was a great test for us. We passed, obviously, but we’ve got to clean it up at the free-throw line. That could hurt us down the line.”
Mercer came out strong, jumping ahead to an early lead and shooting 4 of 4 from the field out the gate. The Bears scored the first points of the night from the charity stripe and didn’t trail the Wolfpack for the game’s opening 13 minutes.
Mercer went on a 7-0 run midway through the opening half to jump out to its biggest lead of the night, a 19-12 advantage. Bryce ended the Bears run with a great effort play, going up strong for an offensive rebound and crafty putback. Bryce finished the first half with a game-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Wolfpack took its first lead of the game with 7:15 to play in the first half as Daniels hit a 3-pointer and free throw on back-to-back possessions to put NC State up 24-23.
Things stayed tight throughout the remainder of the opening 20 minutes, as NC State took a 37-32 lead into the break. The Pack finished the first frame on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a dagger 3-pointer from Johnson, who finished the first half with six points on two long-range baskets.
Johnson opened up the second half with his third 3-pointer of the game, and the Pack went on a 15-2 run to extend its lead to 52-34. The Wolfpack stifled Mercer, forcing four turnovers and scoring eight points off those turnovers in just the first five minutes of second half.
The Pack continued to pour on, opening up a 61-41 lead capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore Blake Harris. NC State was all over the Bears on both ends of the court in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Mercer made things interesting though, going on a 18-3 run to cut the Wolfpack’s 20-point lead to just five points with under five minutes to play. The Bears got 11 points from Dimitrijevic during the run, and scored 10 of the 18 points from the free-throw line to make things 64-59.
“They play hard,” Bryce said. “They played until the last seconds on the clock. We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas in the second half, keep playing hard. We got up by a big margin and we backed off a little bit. We can’t do that down the line.”
The Wolfpack clamped down on the Bears’ spurt, matching points with Mercer down the stretch to win 78-74. NC State also did a great job of denying Mercer from hitting long shots to climb back into things. The Bears had only three 3-pointers, and none in the second half.
“I thought we made a couple big shots when we needed it,” Keatts said. “I thought we switched out and guarded the 3-point well, even though we got driven by and they made some layups. With a team like Mercer, we wanted to guard the 3-point line first.”
Not much has gone wrong for NC State through its first six games of the season, but the competition hasn’t been the best. All six of the Pack’s games have come against much lesser, small-conference opponents.
However, that ends now for the Wolfpack. Four of NC State’s next five games will be against Power 5 teams, beginning with a trip to Wisconsin Tuesday for a Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup. For the Pack, the chance to finally play in a headline game comes with a level of excitement.
“We love to play basketball, but those games are definitely something that you come to college to do,” Dorn said. “To play against teams of that caliber. We are definitely excited as a team for those challenges.”
Junior guard Markell Johnson attacks the rim for a dunk on Saturday, Nov. 24 at PNC Arena. Johnson scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting as the Wolfpack beat Mercer 78-74.
