NC State gears up for ACC opener by rolling past William & Mary
N.C. State isn’t a part of the 2022 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, having lost too many conference games last season and being left out of the annual event’s field.
But the Pack isn’t sitting idly on the sideline this week.
The challenge Tuesday was to beat William & Mary and get prepared for the start of this season’s ACC play, and the Wolfpack did that with an 85-64 victory Tuesday night at PNC Arena.
“A hundred percent, we should have definitely been in (the Challenge),” said the Pack’s Casey Morsell, who had a game-high 23 points. “But last year was last year and we’re looking ahead. We’re looking forward to conference play. That’s all we can control.”
There were some highlights Tuesday worthy of an ESPN replay. On one second-half play, the Pack’s Jarkel Joiner chased after a loose ball and flipped it back to Dusan Mahorcic as Joiner went tumbling out of bounds.
The ball went to Morsell, who knocked down a 3-pointer, the referee raising both arms not far from where Joiner’s upraised legs could be seen on the far side of the scorer’s table.
The Wolfpack (7-1) shared the ball — Terquavion Smith had seven assists and Joiner six. The balance also was there: Five players finished in double figures as Smith had 13 points, Jack Clark and Mahorcic 12 each and Joiner 11.
William & Mary (3-5) made the Pack work early in the game before a late 13-4 spurt in the first half by N.C. State led to a 43-28 lead at the break — that after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by the Tribe’s Chris Mullins.
After winning two of three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Wolfpack was back on its home floor, where it will host Pittsburgh on Friday in its ACC opener.
“We came back from the Bahamas with good energy, good vibes,” Smith said.
The game Tuesday began on a nice note for the Pack, with center D.J. Burns Jr. getting a pass low in the post and then kicking the ball out to Smith for a 3. The Wolfpack was on its way.
Joiner ran the offense, Smith looked for openings and didn’t hold back on 3s, and Morsell played another in-control, steady game, getting open looks and knocking down shots.
“You have to give up something (defensively) against us,” Morsell said. “Every team has to give up something and I think that’s what makes us so hard to guard. Hopefully that will lead to good opportunities for the bigs, because we can all shoot the ball.”
Early in the second half, Morsell drained a 3 from the left corner, drew a foul and converted it into a 4-point play and 51-32 lead.
That three-man combination of Joiner, Morsell and Smith worked well in the Bahamas, and Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts will count it working in ACC competition.
Keatts probably would like to see Smith shooting the ball better. The sophomore was 13-of-41 from the field in the three Battle 4 Atlantis games, going 6-for-19 on 3-pointers.
After making his first 3-pointer Tuesday, Smith kept firing away and made a 22-footer from the key for a 28-20 lead. But he also was fouled on a 3 and missed two of three at the line.
One shooting plus for the Pack: Junior forward Greg Gantt popped in a 3-pointer in the second half for his first career points.
Pitt (6-3) went to Northwestern and rolled to an 87-58 victory in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Panthers were 14-of-22 on 3-pointers and had five players in double figures, led by Blake Hinson’s 22 points.
“We’re doing some good things,” Keatts said. “Do I think we have a long way to go? Absolutely. It’s a little bit early for a conference game, but the reality of it is we have to play well on Friday. I do think we’ve grown in the last two or three weeks and gotten better.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2022 at 9:03 PM.
