In the annual Heritage Game played in Reynolds Coliseum, the NC State men’s basketball team trounced UMKC, 88-69, thanks to an electric atmosphere from a sold-out crowd.
The Wolfpack (8-2) pulled away from the Kangaroos (3-8) midway through the first half on a 22-4 run in the last 8:04 of the first frame. NC State led UMKC 47-24 at the half, and limited the Kangaroos to just a 32.4 shooting percentage from the field, and 18.3 percent from long range.
“I thought we had one of the best halves that we’ve had, especially in the first half, on the defensive end,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought we did a great job holding those guys to 24 points. We were doing a good job of taking away their threes. They’re a team that takes a lot of threes. I was very happy with some of the guys’ efforts.”
The Old Barn was rocking on the rainy Saturday afternoon, and redshirt junior guard Torin Dorn more than benefited from the ambience. Dorn recorded his second-consecutive double-double, notching 22 points and 17 rebounds, a career high.
Dorn, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Charlotte, has capitalized on the glass this season, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game — especially since he often finds himself at the power forward position.
“I feel extremely comfortable down there,” Dorn said. “I just try to use my quickness. I’m outsized a lot of times. I try to use my quickness, get to the boards and play bigger than I am.”
At first glance it seemed that NC State would run away with this one; however, the Kangaroos didn’t go away quietly.
UMKC went on a 13-4 run to close the gap to 66-54 7:45 left in the second half. Then after a short run from the Wolfpack, the Kangaroos found their groove and decreased the deficit to just 11 with 3:17 left on the clock.
“We talked in the locker room about being able to finish games,” Keatts said. “Obviously this is a group that we just put together and we’re starting to get better. I would have liked to have seen us play a little better in the second half as far as doing a great job on the defensive end. Obviously that’s something that we can work on.”
Committing turnovers was once again a crippling issue for the Pack. NC State had a total of 15 turnovers to UMKC’s 10. The Pack’s vaunted full-court press has continued to struggle as the season progresses.
The Pack might have committed some unforced errors, but it made up for it in dominance on the glass. NC State recorded a season-high 52 rebounds, passing the previous high of 44 against Northern Iowa in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
The guard tandem of freshman Braxton Beverly and sophomore Markell Johnson shined once again. After being one point and one assist shy of a double-double on Dec. 2 against South Carolina State, Beverly had a quiet, yet efficient outing versus the Kangaroos.
In his third-consecutive start, the Hargrave Military Academy product scored 12 points and dished seven assists. Johnson, on the other hand, saw increased success on the offensive end.
Keatts said that Johnson had a good week of practice, and it showed against UMKC. Johnson scored a season, and career-high 17 points, including a ferocious one-handed dunk over the Kangaroos’ Mo Ahmed, a 7-foot-2 center, which ignited a jam-packed Reynolds Coliseum.
“I just saw the lane,” Johnson said. “I just told myself no matter who was there I was going to jump and try to dunk it, and then that’s what happened.”
Johnson’s posterizing slam back in the Old Barn and Keatts’ bright-red sports coat reminded Wolfpack fans of the glory days of NC State men’s basketball.
“I told you when I took the job, this is a beautiful place,” Keatts said. “I love NC State. When we talk about it’s a great institution both academically and basketball wise. We’ve got tremendous support. It’s a great place. The red jacket felt really good.”
NC State won their annual Heritage Game at Reynolds Coliseum against the UMKC Kangaroos 88-69 on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 to a sold out crowd. Dec. 9 marked the 17th game back at Reynolds Coliseum and saw the Wolfpack improve to 16-1 for games played at Reynolds Coliseum since the move to PNC Arena in 2000.
