Second half lifts Pack to victory: 3 takeaways from NC State win over Coastal Carolina
Trey Parker grabbed the basketball and flung his elbows around as if to say, “Stay back,” a look of determination in his eyes. That wasn’t a look N.C. State saw much on Wednesday night, but it came at the right time.
The Wolfpack defeated Coastal Carolina, 82-70, to remain unbeaten in the nonconference schedule.
N.C. State (3-0) created and maintained a lead for the entire game, but it wasn’t smooth sailing against Coastal Carolina (1-2).
The Wolfpack defense looked confident on the floor, creating 13 first-half turnovers and disrupting the Chanticleers’ ability to run its offense. It forced two shot clock violations six minutes in. It added a back court violation and five-second violation by the 7-minute mark.
However, N.C. State struggled to keep the Chants out of the paint, where the visitors went 13 of 17 on layups; at one point they were 12 of 14.
Its first-half rebounding effort and 10 personal fouls that sent Coastal to the line for seven free throws negatively impacted the Pack’s ability to break away. It led by two points at halftime.
“We got complacent in the first half,” senior guard Jayden Taylor said. “We weren’t supposed to be up two. We all know that. But we got it done, and we’ve got to be better moving forward, because teams are only gonna get better.”
The Wolfpack started the second half on a 10-0 run and looked more in control of the game. Ismael Diouf, who made his debut, said he isn’t sure why the team was flat in the first half. It rallied at the break and played with more effort.
Taylor led the Wolfpack with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Parker, a true freshman, didn’t lead the team in scoring, but he played a big role in the victory. Parker had 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting and five rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Pack shot 0 of 10 from 3-point range, but it made up for the deficiency by making 28 of 35 free throws. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was nearly perfect, making nine of his 10 free throw attempts.
N.C. State’s score looks a lot better than the game itself did, but the team will take plenty of lessons from its win.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Taylor’s turnovers still an issue
Keatts said in October part of his job is to convince players they don’t have to be the leading scorers to help their teams win. It’s better to be a complete player. That’s what he wanted from Taylor.
“I’ve asked him to be the best defender on the team. I’ve asked him to become a better passer, to clean up his assist to turnover ratio,” Keatts said. “I’ve asked him to shoot better from 3. He’s really worked hard to try to be a complete player.”
The Wolfpack senior has yet to find consistency in his quest for well-rounded play, but the most glaring issue remains the number of turnovers.
Taylor committed the team’s first four turnovers, all coming by the under-8 timeout. At halftime, N.C. State only had five. He finished with five, committing one in the second frame, and no assists.
“I just started being more decisive,” Taylor said when asked about the better finish. “Even the one (after halftime), I was trying to throw to (Dontrez Styles). I should have ball faked and bounce-passed it, probably. But, being more decisive and just making up my mind.”
This performance comes after Taylor recorded another five turnovers against Presbyterian. He committed two in the season opener.
While Keatts may not make him run — the players often joke about it being their punishment — the coach wants much more from his returner.
Entering the game, Taylor led the team in scoring and turnovers. After Wednesday, he still leads in both categories and committed half of the total turnovers against Coastal.
“I’ve got to show him his his turnovers, see where they’re coming from, and get him better in that area,” Keatts said. “He’s much better than turning the ball over, nine (sic) times in two games.”
The Wolfpack commits a turnover on 16.2% of its possessions, which ranks 127th in the nation, according to KenPom.com. It finished with a turnover on 14.7% of its possessions against Coastal. With Taylor is accounting for the majority of the team’s turnovers, part of N.C. State’s success this season will hinge on his ability to play cleanly.
What first-half rebounding?
N.C. State lacked toughness off the glass in the first half of its meeting against Coastal Carolina. The Wolfpack went to the locker room facing a 15-9 rebounding deficit.
Most of the issue came from the effort — or lack thereof. The Wolfpack spent most of its time trying to swat the ball away from the Chanticleers, as opposed to actually regaining possession.
It can’t blame Coastal Carolina’s size, either. The Chants’ roster features 7-foot-2 center Noah Amenhauser and 7-foot-1 Major Majak, but Denzel Hines grabbed seven boards in the first half. He is listed at 6-foot-7. Guards Naz Brown and Jordan Battle are listed at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2, respectively. They pulled down two rebounds each.
N.C. State big men Huntley-Hatfield and Ben Middlebrooks are listed at 6-foot-10 and should have the size advantage against Hines.
It’s a good thing the Wolfpack forced 13 first-half turnovers to make up for its small number of rebounds.
“I told (Dontrez) and those guys, ‘You’ve got to impact the game by rebounding the basketball and doing different things,’” Keatts said. “I love our first three minutes of the second half. I love our first five minutes of the first half, just in between we’ve gotta continue to get consistent in every way.”
There were a couple of plays in the second half when the Pack was beat on a rebound, notably it outnumbered the Chants 3-1 and didn’t win possession, but its effort was far better in the second half.
The Wolfpack finished with 30 rebounds to Coastal Carolina’s 33. Of those, 12 of N.C. State’s rebounds came on the offensive glass for a plus-10 from the first 20 minutes.
“It’s not a good thing,” Bryce Heard said of the rebounding deficit. “But, we came back. We had to fight, get a little bit more aggressive and close out the win in the second half.”
MOC earned ‘floor general’ title
Virtually the entire team, including Keatts, has praised graduate student Michael O’Connell for his leadership. His impact became abundantly clear when he spent nearly half the game on the bench.
O’Connell picked up two fouls in the span of 14 seconds less than four minutes into the game. He sat the rest of the half. The offense looked, at times, disjointed and inefficient. It’s probably why the team only scored 35 points in the first half.
Everything flowed better, and the team played with more confidence, when he returned to the floor after halftime. N.C. State surpassed its first-half scoring total with seven and a half minutes left to play.
“I’ll be the first to tell you I need Michael O’Connell,” Taylor said. “He makes the game so much easier, being a true point guard, his IQ and everything he brings to the table. He just makes it easier for me. It was really hard without Michael, I’ll be the first to tell you, we need him.”
Taylor said several of his turnovers occurred because he was handling the ball. O’Connell, instead, would’ve simply set him up for a bucket.
Keatts said losing O’Connell “changed us a little bit,” noting the way his point guard steadies the rest of the players and gets everyone where they need to be.
O’Connell may not be the highest-scoring player for the Pack, but his importance cannot be understated.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 9:26 PM.
