NC State basketball rolls over Austin Peay, 99-50
In the final minute of the game, NC State basketball walk-on guard Chase Graham attempted a three-pointer that misfired. Fellow walk-on backcourt member KJ Keatts also had a chance to make a trey that misfired.
Thus, the Wolfpack failed in the quest for 100 points during the season opener vs. Austin Peay, but that was about the only thing that went wrong in an impressive 99-50 win over an overwhelmed Governors squad at PNC Arena in Raleigh Monday evening.
NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts said following the game that he believes the first game is the most challenging of the year, but that was not the case for his new-look squad that featured three new transfers in the starting lineup.
“I’ve been on the other side of it at the first game where we were able to squeak away with a win but we didn’t play well,” Keatts noted. “I thought everything went as we planned tonight.”
Five players scored in double figures, led by the main returning player, sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, who finished with 26 points after making 9 of 15 shots from the field and 3 of 7 three-pointers. He also added 5 assists, one of his career high.
Ole Miss super senior transfer Jarkel Joiner joined Smith in the backcourt and had 18 points and a career-high 8 assists. La Salle transfer and forward Jack Clark, a fifth-year senior, had 15 points and 7 rebounds while also making three shots beyond the arc.
The senior post duo of Dusan Mahorcic (Utah transfer) and DJ Burns Jr. (Winthrop transfer) combined to go 9 of 10 from the field and finish with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
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Senior guard Casey Morsell also reached double figures with 10 points tied Clark for a game-high 3 steals.
Perhaps most impressive about the performance was no let-up throughout the game. NC State jumped out to a 26-6 lead before the first half was even midway over and stretched the advantage to 28 points at halftime, 49-21.
By the time Austin Peay, coached by former Duke guard and assistant Nate James, called a timeout with 15:23 left in the game, NC State was up 67-29. The lead would reach 51 points on three different occasions.
“This is a good bunch,” Keatts noted. “They’ve bonded both on and off the court. We are going to continue to be a work in progress. We’ll continue to get better. This is one game, but if you told me I could play one game and try to build on something, we are going to continue to do that.”
The Wolfpack will be back at PNC Arena on Friday evening for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Campbell. The Camels are also 1-0 after a 79-62 win over St. Augustine on Monday. The game can be seen online on ACC Network Extra.
