Midway through the first half, there was a feeling of “here we go again” in PNC Arena as the NC State men’s basketball team looked ugly against Louisville, a team that started the season 0-9.

After dropping its first two ACC games, suffering a third straight conference loss would have been unacceptable. But the Wolfpack (11-3, 1-2 ACC) picked up in the second half, going on a blistering 17-0 run and getting another strong performance from graduate forward DJ Burns to beat the Cardinals (2-11, 0-3 ACC) 76-64.

“It’s tough because we played an ACC team, even though it’s a team that didn’t have a lot of early success,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “I thought the difference in the game was in the second half, we came out with a lot more energy. Proud of the way we passed the ball.”

Much like the weather in Raleigh on Thursday, NC State came out cold and dreary in the first half, only shooting 36.4% from the field. It was a different story in the second half, however, as the Pack heated up from beyond the arc with six of its first 10 buckets coming from deep.

That was due in large part to the play of senior guard Casey Morsell and sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, who combined for 29 points and eight 3s. All of Morsell’s 15 points came from 3-point land, and Smith bounced back after a rough first half to hit three 3s in the first five minutes of the second.

“The chemistry is big; all of those guys know where I’m going to be,” Morsell said. “I know going into each game where I’m going to find my shot. That makes it easier to get my shots off.”

But the star of the night for the Pack was Burns, who finished with a game-high 17 points and continued what has been an impressive streak of games after scoring 18 in the win over Vanderbilt. Along with Morsell, Burns was the lifeline of the NC State offense in the first half, and he continued to be a reliable option in the second, finishing 8-10 from the field.

“Honestly, when I’m feeling hot, that’s what every player wants,” Burns said. “When they’ve got the hot hand, we’re gonna always hear it, so I just tried to let that be known.”

With a game reminiscent of former NBA player Zach Randolph, Burns is establishing himself as a tremendous pickup for Keatts through the transfer portal. He has great touch, good passing abilities and a good shot, all for a guy who is 6-foot-9 and weighs 275 pounds.

“He’s as gifted a post guy scoring the ball that I’ve seen in a long time,” Keatts said. “He’s talented. If I can continue to help him get better defensively, I know that’s a stretch, but we’re gonna continue to work on it. He’s really good; he’s tough to stop down there.”

NC State started to pick things up at the end of the first half, finishing on a 15-7 run over the last eight minutes to take a 31-28 lead into halftime. After the 17-0 run to start the second ballooned the lead to 17, it was just a matter of the Pack not letting it slip away.

“I didn’t think we played hard enough in the first half, and that’s just not who we are,” Keatts said. “I had a few choice words [at halftime], we talked about it, and I thought our energy level went up to another decibel.”

Although Louisville never let the game become a runaway, cutting the lead to 10 late, Burns and company proved to be too much. All five of the Pack’s starters finished in double digits, and even though the bench only scored three, a balanced scoring effort from the starting five is always a good sign.

NC State heads into Christmas with its first ACC win and will now get prepared for a road contest against Clemson on Friday, Dec. 30 at 4 p.m.