The NC State men’s basketball team wrapped up the Battle 4 Atlantis late into the night on Friday, Nov. 25 in Paradise Island, Bahamas with a convincing 76-61 win over the Butler Bulldogs.

Graduate forwards Dusan Mahorcic and DJ Burns contributed 27 points and nine rebounds to the Pack’s total, cementing the team’s fifth-place finish in the tournament. After three days of back-to-back games, NC State (6-1) held a steady lead over Butler (4-3) on tired legs in the second half of a late-night matchup.

Heading into Friday night’s game, all eyes were on Butler center Manny Bates’ performance against his former teammates. Bates, who suffered a season-ending injury in the first minute of last year’s opener against Bucknell and transferred to Butler in May, put up eight points and nine rebounds against the Pack.

“I’m proud of Manny,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “Manny’s been a tremendous kid; he obviously had — at NC State — he had some unfortunate injuries that obviously slowed him down a bit, but he’s a great kid, he’s a really good basketball player.”

Butler’s lead never extended beyond five points in the first half, and NC State’s 15-2 run across the last six and a half minutes propelled them to a 35-22 lead. Burns logged nine points on 50% shooting, leading the Pack in scoring across the first period.

Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith also contributed three rebounds and three assists to NC State’s first-half performance. Wolfpack fans caught flashbacks of Bates’ injury when Smith went down early in the period after rolling his ankle, but the fast-paced phenom quickly returned to the court to sink five points for the Pack.

Mahorcic entered the second period on a hot streak, scoring NC State’s first seven points of the half. Graduate guard Jack Clark racked up a total of eight rebounds.

Neither Smith nor graduate guard Jarkel Joiner had a particularly high-scoring night, but NC State’s depth was more than enough to take care of business without 20-point games from Smith or Joiner. Furthermore, both looked as confident as ever on the court, sinking 3-pointers and darting around Butler’s big guys with ease.

“When they didn’t have a huge scoring night, I thought they found other ways to affect the game,” Keatts said. “When you look at Terquavion, he had five assists and one turnover, and I think they all played on the defensive end. Proud of my team.”

NC State’s squad proved resilient in the second half, at one point boasting a 20-point lead over the Bulldogs despite the inevitable exhaustion of playing a third basketball game in three days. Butler cut their deficit to 10 points with six minutes to go, but NC State maintained its cushy lead to cement a fifth-place finish on the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

“Great tournament, it always has been,” Keatts said. “You’re fortunate if you can get out of here with one win — two is great, and then three’s over-the-top. And so I’m excited about our team as we continue to grow, and we’ll continue to work and get better.”

The Wolfpack will return to PNC Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 29 for a nonconference matchup against William & Mary. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.