NC State surged past Bethune-Cookman. Here’s what we learned in the Wolfpack’s win
It’s obvious there won’t be a lot of easy nights for N.C. State. But the Wolfpack have proven that toughness and perseverance can lead to wins.
It wasn’t always pretty by any means, but N.C. State put together enough sequences of positive plays to hold off Bethune-Cookman, 65-48 in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (7-2, 0-1) never trailed, but for the longest time it never felt like it was in complete control. The Wildcats (1-8), returning to hoops after missing all of last season, were scrappy as ever, pulling to within five by the break.
Early in the second half N.C. State put together its best couple of minutes of basketball and that was enough to take control. Freshman Terquavion Smith and senior Jericole Hellems hit consecutive threes to push the lead to 11. After a timeout, Smith hit another three and aside from a brief second when the Wildcats pulled to within nine, the lead remained in double digits for most of the final eight minutes.
An ugly win is a win regardless, but Keatts will probably try and quickly put this one in the rearview before heading to Brooklyn on Sunday to take on No. 1 Purdue.
N.C. State has the lowest field goal percentage out of all ACC schools (43 percent) and barely cracked that against Bethune-Cookman (39 percent).
The saving grace was a strong start for Hellems, who hit his first five shots from the field. He finished with 13 points, his sixth straight game in double-figures. Another thing that worked for the Pack was the ability to get out and run. While the field goals weren’t falling, the fast break points came at ease. N.C. State scored 19 points in transition, compared to just 4 from the Wildcats. The Pack also forced double digit turnovers for the ninth straight game. On the flip side, N.C. State had double digit turnovers for just the fourth time this season. Their quick start to the game masked the mistakes made once both teams settled down.
It helped the Pack that Dereon Seabron got going after a slow start. The Norfolk, Va. native finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year. Helping Seabron out was Smith, who scored nine points in the second half.
N.C. State improved to 36-1 under Keatts versus non-conference opponents at home in the regular season. The team has won 29 consecutive regular season home games versus non-conference teams. The Wolfpack held the Wildcats to 8-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor in the second half.
HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED
SMITH GETTING IT TOGETHER
It appears that N.C. State freshman Terquavion Smith is figuring out how to be consistent. The reigning ACC Freshman of the Week put together his second consecutive game in double digits. Smith, fresh off a 17-point game versus Louisville, scored 14 against the Wildcats. He started the season with three straight games in double figures. He then went through a slump where he scored 0, 7, 9 and 9 in the next four games. Against Bethune-Cookman the Pack started the game on a 9-0 run. Smith scored five of the nine.
THE BENCH IS BACK
Bench scoring has been a huge strength for N.C. State during the Kevin Keatts era. Under Keatts, the bench has averaged 23.1 points per game. The reserves didn’t quite get there versus the Wildcats, but they did produce 8 points after going scoreless versus Louisville on Saturday.
TOUGHER FROM HERE
N.C. State’s level of competition doesn’t get any easier from here. On Sunday, the Wolfpack travels to Brooklyn to face No. 1 Purdue in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational. It will be just the sixth meeting between the two programs. The Boilermakers are 2-0 against ACC opponents this season, scoring 93 points against both UNC and Florida State.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 8:33 PM.
