NC State Men’s Basketball suffered a 74-54 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the inaugural ACC-SEC Challenge in Oxford, Mississippi. 

From the tip, NC State (4-2) struggled to establish any sort of momentum on both sides of the ball and trailed Ole Miss (6-0) for the entirety of the game. Throughout the majority of the game, both teams struggled to garner offensive momentum. However, the Pack was unable to capitalize, posting its worst shooting performance of the season.

After the Rebels struck first, it took nearly two minutes for the Pack to get on the board when junior guard Jayden Taylor sank a 3-pointer. However, Ole Miss took control of the ballgame over the next seven minutes. During which, Ole Miss compiled a 13-4 run which was due in part to the Pack’s inability to hit shots and the ability of the Rebels to out-rebound the Pack. Despite some offensive struggles from Ole Miss, the Rebels put up a strong defensive effort to limit production from NC State to put the early score at 17-5.

The Wolfpack finally shifted some of the momentum when junior forward Ben Middlebrooks stepped onto the scene. He quickly put up a layup to end a nearly two minute long scoring drought. Middlebrooks officially took over the game for the better part of the ensuing two and a half minutes when he put up ten straight points. Thanks to an additional jumper from graduate guard Casey Morsell, the Pack found itself within two. Middlebrooks had the best night on the team with a double-double and a career-high 13 points and 12 rebounds. 

Despite narrowing the margin, it was the closest NC State got for the rest of the night. Rebel forward Jaemyn Brakefield ended the Pack’s offensive push with a 3-pointer. He proved to be a thorn in the Wolfpack’s side, shooting 4/5 from the field in the first half and finished the contest with 25 points. 

For the remainder of the half, neither team mustered much offensively and both squads struggled to hit shots at crucial points. A glaring deficiency in the Pack’s first half performance derived from its inability to hit shots from behind the arc. Until the 3:32 mark, the Pack had only cashed in on a single 3-pointer, which changed after a tough shot from graduate guard DJ Horne. 

NC State had an opportunity to make a late half push when Ole Miss fell into a scoring drought of two and a half minutes. However, the home side’s defense continued to stifle the Pack and the Rebels took a 35-27 lead into halftime. 

When the second half began, NC State once again embarked on a slow start. After Ole Miss scored five straight points, the Pack responded with a gritty and-one layup from Morsell to put the score at 40-30. The teams traded shots for the next few minutes and the deficit remained just in double digits. 

Once again, there were stretches where neither team found success shooting the ball, and NC State could not capitalize. When the game just passed the 15 minute marker, Morsell picked up his fourth foul of the game which forced Head Coach Kevin Keatts to use him wisely for the remainder of the half. Over the next four minutes, the Wolfpack offense did not muster much production outside of a dunk from Middlebrooks. 

In the following minutes, the Rebels extended their lead to 57-36 and Brakefield continued to punish the Pack. With over a four minute scoring drought approaching, sophomore guard LJ Thomas cashed in on the first NC State 3 of the second half to help give it some momentum and cut the deficit to 18. 

The Pack fell silent again after a series of turnovers and continued struggles shooting the ball. NC State’s dismal 6.3% shooting percentage from behind the 3-point arc prevented any chance of a second half push. Ole Miss on the other hand found the opposite and shot 40% from the arc to help gradually put the game on ice. 

After the 3 from Thomas, the Pack went nearly five more minutes without making a shot from the field. This took a lot of pressure off of Ole Miss — it could afford to miss shots of its own with its defense continuing to ensure that the ballgame was out of reach. 

With the game winding down, Morsell continued to show his grit. He strung together multiple shots in the attempt to trim down the deficit. He had a strong second half despite only shooting 5-14 on the day. He finished the contest with 12 points, with eight coming in the second half. 

Ole Miss soundly defeated NC State 72-52. Even though it showed some life in the first half, the Pack could not establish any form of offensive momentum which forced it into having to take tough shots for the majority of the game. After a performance against BYU where it put up 86 points, NC State saw several aspects of its game taken away as it put forth a season-low in points.

The Wolfpack will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 2 as it takes on the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in its inaugural ACC match of the season. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACC Network.