In what looked like what would be a good game to start, NC State men’s basketball instead opted for another blowout. The Wolfpack (7-1) cruised past the Tribe (3-5) to win 85-64.
The Pack dominated in all major statistical categories, tallying 18 total assists, 42 rebounds and seven blocks to William & Mary’s eight assists and two blocks. These stats translated into a convincing win by the Pack.
“What I’m really proud of is 18 assists on 31 made field goals,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “[Sophomore guard] Terquavion [Smith] and [graduate guard] Jarkel Joiner are really playing unselfish basketball.”
NC State was admittedly flat to begin the game. The Tribe was able to match the Pack basket for basket until about the halfway point of the first period. The Tribe held a 19-17 lead at the 11:10, but a 3-pointer from Smith gave the Pack a lead that it never gave back.
“We started off kind of flat,” said senior guard Casey Morsell. “Once the energy picked up and guys started finding each other on the offensive end, things started clicking.”
Morsell was the star of this game. In an offense focused on getting good looks from 3, Morsell, along with Smith and Joiner, have been great together in the Wolfpack backcourt. Morsell hit six threes to total 23 points.
In his second season with the Pack, Morsell is excelling as a 3-and-D player. He was known as a defensive specialist in his first two seasons at Virginia but has become equally dangerous on the offensive end.
“You love to see a kid who puts in the work and works on those shots every day, for them to go in,” Keatts said. “He’s turning into a really good two-way player.”
The Wolfpack ended the first half with a 43-28 lead, leaving some room for adjustments in the second half. Keatts played graduate forward DJ Burns to start the game and went with graduate forward Dusan Mahorcic in the second half.
Mahorcic provided a major energy boost off the bench with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. It looks like Keatts is content with the play at the center position with the focal point of the offense being guard play.
“The way I look at it right now is I’ve got six starters,” Keatts said. “Both of these guys [Burns and Mohorcic] are going to end up playing half the game anyways.”
The Wolfpack held a lead of at least 15 points the entire second half, finishing at a rate of 42.9% from 3 and 49.2% from the field. Smith is developing into a solid player before everyone’s eyes. He’s been an elite scoring option who can create any shot for himself, but his defensive prowess and play-making ability is on another level.
“It means a lot to me to help my teammates make shots and get open shots,” Smith said.
Smith and the rest of the Pack won’t be playing in the ACC/Big Ten challenge, but there is confidence in the locker room that the team would perform well if they were given the opportunity.
NC State will have many more opportunities to come and is set to stay in Raleigh for its next two games, hosting Pitt on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at PNC Arena.
