NC State men’s basketball saw its first action of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday when it took on Mount Olive in its sole exhibition match. The Wolfpack pulled out an 89-79 victory in a game that was a little too close for comfort. Perhaps few teams in the country experienced as much turnover throughout the offseason as NC State. Tonight, Pack fans got their first taste of a lineup with several new faces.

The Pack earned first possession off the tip and soon after struck first with a layup from graduate guard DJ Horne. The red-and–white got out to a 4-0 lead but lost some steam when it committed a series of turnovers that allowed Mount Olive to establish itself in the game. Before long, the score rested at six points apiece after NC State turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes. 

Despite its sluggish beginning, the Pack found its rhythm again when junior forward Mohamed Diarra scored four straight points. The 6-foot-10 man had perhaps the most complete game of any NC State player with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block. 

“He’s good; he’s talented,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “You know, the great thing about him is I can move him all over the place. He thinks he can play small forward. I think he’s a power forward and center, but he moves all over the place.”

Junior guard Jayden Taylor also made contributions with five consecutive points that jump started a 13-0 run and enabled the red-and-white to establish a 26-10 lead. Taylor proved to be a threat inside and outside of the arc, turning in a 13-point game that included eight first half points.

“Everybody knows we could have played better,” Taylor said. “Going forward we just got to focus on us. Obviously, we got some stuff to clean up. We are gonna take it game by game. We want to do better, but we are gonna have these types of games. It’s a whole new team, so many transfers; we are gonna have growing pains.”

At times, Mount Olive showed signs of attempting to reassert itself into the game, but the Pack consistently found a way to respond. Despite a few more turnovers, NC State started to pull away from the Trojans after a three-minute scoring drought that allowed NC State to stretch its lead out to 36-18. 

In the second quarter, freshman guard Dennis Parker Jr. was instrumental for the Pack in the paint and at the free throw line. He turned in a solid performance with eight points and seven rebounds on the night. As halftime approached, NC State sat comfortably at a 44-24 lead. 

At the start of the second half, NC State once again made some sloppy mistakes and allowed Mount Olive to gain some momentum. Just four minutes into the second half, the Wolfpack had only made two of its first seven shot attempts, whereas the Trojans were five for 11 with 12 points in the half. During this time, the visitors cut the deficit down to a 13-point differential. 

The Pack had its hands full with Mount Olive guard Colin Radcliffe and forward Redford Dunton popping out onto the scene in the second half with a combined 19 points — including an impressive five three-pointers between them.  

Despite facing a strong threat from the Trojans, the Pack turned to two familiar faces to help quell the storm. After a quiet first half for both graduate forward DJ Burns and graduate guard Casey Morsell, the two teamed up to combine for 19 second-half points to punch back at the Trojans. 

NC State saw various combinations of players on the court throughout the game. With many new faces, Keatts and his staff experimented with a broad range of bigger and smaller lineups. Even with the constant substitutions, the entire roster was able to provide steady scoring throughout all positions. 

“This team is exactly what I thought,” Keatts said. “We have five guys in double digit scoring and then we had two guys that had nine and eight. This is exactly who this team is; it’s gonna be balanced.”

After getting a solid look at many players’ performances, Keatts and the Wolfpack will turn their attention to their first game of the season. 

“My message to those guys is starting on Monday, get excited,” Keatts said. “We are gonna be off tomorrow and then Friday, Saturday, Sunday we will prepare for our first contest against Citadel. Now we have to lock in.”

The Wolfpack will take on the Citadel Bulldogs at PNC Arena on Monday, Nov. 6 in its season-opener. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACC Network Extra.