Not even tomorrow’s election day could save the Austin Peay Governors from a 99-50 loss to NC State men’s basketball in the Pack’s season opener.
Facing their fair share of criticism for last season’s results, head coach Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack (1-0) responded in a big way to start the year. Proven commodities, talent from the portal and newly-minted rotation players all played a part in asserting dominance over Austin Peay (0-1).
“Give our guys a lot of credit — I’m proud of them,” Keatts said. “We played on both ends of the floor, we were able to make shots, and I thought we shared the ball when you look at it.”
Perhaps the least surprising of the bunch was sophomore guard Terquavion Smith’s performance, picking up right where he left off a season ago as the Pack’s marquee scorer. Posting a final stat line of 26 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, Smith looked unstoppable for the majority of the night. Whether it was entering the lane at will, pulling up from distance with his usual confidence or screaming down the floor in transition, “Baby T” seemed all-in on establishing the “Grown Man T” campaign.
“It was great, man, great feeling,” Smith said. “I couldn’t do it without my team, so shoutout to my brothers — they always look out for me. They always got my back, so I can’t do it without them boys.”
NC State came out of the gate swinging and never looked back. Going on an early 16-2 run to extend its first half lead to 28-8 with a little over nine minutes remaining in the half, the Wolfpack built all the cushion it needed to secure a season-opening victory.
Seeing eight members of the Pack find themselves on the court, the first half provided a promising look at what the future could hold for this NC State men’s basketball team. Smith did his thing with 12 points on 50% shooting, two assists and a rebound in the period. Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner looked just as impressive with 12 points of his own on 66.7% shooting with six assists and two rebounds.
Graduate guard Jack Clark and graduate forward DJ Burns also made the most of their first half minutes with eight points apiece and Burns shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field.
Joiner would finish the game with 18 points, but the most inspiring portion of his performance came in the form of playmaking with his career-high eight assists. Coming into this year’s campaign, the role of primary ball handler and facilitator was up in the air for NC State. One game into the season, Joiner is already filling the position comfortably.
“When you have a veteran guard in college basketball, it goes a long way,” Keatts said. “He had 18 [points] and eight [assists] and only had two turnovers [with] as much as he had the basketball, but he just works so hard. He puts so much work in every day.”
The second half remained much of the same — Smith sinking jumper-after-jumper, rotation players finding their grooves and new faces making their first marks with the program. Clark finished the evening with 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Burns finally missed a shot, but not before putting up 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Casey Morsell rounded out the night’s double-digit scorers with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
One of NC State’s newest additions to the starting lineup may not have hit double-digit scoring, but his impact on the game can’t be understated. Graduate forward Dusan Mahorcic’s career has him with his fifth program in five years, but the big man feels like his chapter with the Pack comes at the perfect time.
“It has been a long journey,” Mahorcic said. “To me, [being] with guys that want to win and are really close together really means a lot. Being in your last year, you’ve got to do well. … We just played together. We played really good defense, we played really good offense and wins are going to come.”
Austin Peay may not be a college basketball powerhouse, but a 49-point victory to open the season gives NC State plenty to look forward to. The rotation went deep, and anyone who touched the court contributed in some capacity. The stars wasted no time reestablishing themselves as exactly that. Above all else, Keatts appears to have built a team not only committed to winning, but to each other as well.
“With this year’s team, we want to block out as much noise as possible that we get or hear, and just lock in,” Keatts said. “Just lock into the locker room and continue to get better.”
Next up for the Wolfpack is another nonconference matchup at PNC Arena on Friday, Nov. 11 as NC State gears up to take on Campbell. Tip-off against the Camels is set for 7 p.m.
