NC State's Jayden Taylor catches fire in win over Abilene Christian

NC State junior guard Jayden Taylor only made one of his first seven shots against Abilene Christian, but each time he had the opportunity the Butler transfer was not afraid to shoot the next one. 

Eventually the misfires had to end, and they did in a hurry in the second half against the Wildcats. Taylor closed the night with a 4-for-5 clip from the field to pace the Wolfpack with a 22 points in the team’s 84-64 win on Friday night at PNC Arena. 

“They give me the confidence to be ultra aggressive from the jump to the end,” Taylor said in the locker room afterwards. “Even if my shot isn’t falling, they know I can shoot. I know I can shoot too, so that doesn’t really affect me. I might not miss again, that’s just my mentality.”

The Indianapolis, Ind., native broke through in the second half with a tough take to the rim, and then he followed it up with a 3-pointer from the left corner in front of the NC State bench to spark a 5-point run by himself. 

But the playmaker was not done. 

Taylor nailed his third — and final — triple with just over eight minutes to play from the exact same spot. The moment he caught the ball, he and the 12,554 fans in attendance all knew Taylor was going to shoot it. And it was crisp. 

That 3-pointer made the Wolfpack’s home arena get to about as loud as it had gotten all night, and it capped a 14-2 NC State run to lead by 29.

“I like turning PNC up, so when I see PNC loud, that just gives me a good feeling,” Taylor said. “It’s a little rush to the body, a good feeling.”

Taylor was one of four NC State players in double figures against Abilene Christian, including fellow point guard DJ Horne, who scored 15 points. 

Neither player shot the ball particularly well in the team’s opener against The Citadel — a combined 5-for-21 — but once Taylor caught fire, Horne’s shots began to fall, too. The Wolfpack’s second win of the season made Horne think that the red and white’s backcourt has the capability of being elite. 

“I think our backcourt has the potential to be one of the best backcourts in the country when we’re all playing on all cylinders,” Horne said. “Tonight, you got a glimpse of that a little bit. JT had it going, and as a teammate, as another backcourt guard with him, I’m loving that, man.”

While Taylor led the way in scoring, being the first NC State player to hit the 20-plus point mark this season, he was also the example on the defensive end, too. Taylor shadowed the Wildcats’ point guard, Kavion McClain, all night and was as close as he could get without a foul for most of the contest. 

Taylor held McClain to just four points — one field goal and a pair of free throws — in the Wolfpack’s win. And his defensive energy is not a coincidence. Taylor feeds off playing at a high level on that end of the floor, just as much as he does when it comes to scoring the basketball. 

“My matchup, I take that personally,” Taylor said. “I don’t want my matchup to have a good game. That’s just something within me.”

Taylor’s defensive play did not go unnoticed, either. 

NC State graduate guard Casey Morsell, who is also one of NC State’s top defenders, noted how much he liked to see Taylor hound McClain. 

“I love it, it helps us,” Morsell said. “He kept pressure on all night, forcing them to shoot tough shots. So all we had to do was really just finish the possession because he brought the pressure up front. He makes everyone’s job easier.”

Taylor showed why NC State coach Kevin Keatts brought him in over the offseason through the transfer portal against Abilene Christian, a team that just beat Oklahoma State 64-59 on Monday night — he can score and play elite defense. 

“I would say Jayden Taylor was really a spark plug,” Keatts said. “He did a great job on the defensive end. Offensively, he was really aggressive getting to the free throw line.”

The standout guard’s play was contagious, too.

Horne, an Arizona State transfer, thought the entire team took a leap forward after seeing Taylor find his shooting stroke. 

“I think it honestly brings energy to the whole team,” Horne said. “Once you see the ball go in the basket, that’s just an energy booster on any given team. I think tonight we definitely took a big step as a team, and hopefully we can put the ball in the hole at a more efficient rate.”

Taylor was efficient in the second half after an inefficient opening 20 minutes — though he did go 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the first half. He wanted to come out and be aggressive against the Wildcats’ guards, since Taylor thought they would not be able to keep up. 

He was right. They could not, and it worked out for Taylor, who was just two points off his career high. While that was the case, he did not seem to care about that too much, and Taylor is just having fun in Keatts’ free-flowing offense. 

“Coach Keatts, he gives me the ultimate confidence to just play aggressive,” Taylor said. “I can come in every day and just be myself, that’s easy.”

Taylor was himself against Abilene Christian, and the Wolfpack will take another night like that every time they lace it up if the guard continues to shoot the lights out of the ball.