The NC State men’s basketball team defeated Western Carolina 100-67 in its annual Heritage game in the newly named James T. Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The night began with former players and family of the late Jim Valvano being honored on the court for the dedication of Valvano Arena and ended with a dominant second half for the Pack, resulting in 33-point win.
“What an honor to have Pam [Valvano] and her daughters here for the special dedication to Jimmy V.,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “It was a great night, glad that we could be a part of it.”
The Catamounts hung around longer than they probably should have in the first half as the Wolfpack struggled from the field, shooting 2 of 8 to start, and only 1 of 5 from the free throw line in the first half.
The Catamounts’ talented big man Carlos Dotson helped get Western Carolina off to a quick offensive start, going 4 for 4 with 10 points before succumbing to foul trouble late in the first half by picking up two offensive fouls and being forced to sit a large chunk of the first half.
Dotson paced his team throughout the night. He finished with a 19 point, 11 rebound double-double.
Thankfully for NC State, redshirt sophomore Devon Daniels was nearly as efficient and in a higher volume. He went for 16 points in the first half alone on 7-of-10 shooting and finished the game with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting after not cracking double figures the past five games. He was also active on the boards, grabbing four rebounds.
“I think I was just overthinking it,” Daniels said. “I just settled down, kept it simple, adjusted to the offense and it became a lot easier.”
NC State entered halftime with a 45-33 lead, but the Catamounts never got any closer. The Wolfpack scored the first 12 points of the second half to take its largest lead of the game at 57-33. The Catamounts tried to claw their way back, but Dotson and his team was never able to get back into a rhythm. Western Carolina combined for just 2-of-12 shooting in the second half and 38 percent overall.
The Wolfpack was red hot from the floor in the second half, shooting 57 percent on 30 shots while going 7 of 13 from beyond the arc.
While Keatts sat the starters for the bulk of the second half with an enormous lead, sophomore guard Blake Harris stole the show at Reynolds. The Missouri transfer finished with a career-high 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting to go along with five assists.
Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems set a career-high with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range.
It was a team effort for NC State, with four players in double figures as graduate forward Torin Dorn joined Harris, Hellems and Daniels in double figures.
“I think our bond is amazing,” Harris said. “As a team, I think we all fit together, we’re not selfish at all, we’re all like brothers and we just want to win and make coach Keatts happy.”
The Pack got it done on the defensive end as well, forcing 33 turnovers and holding the Catamounts to 32 percent from behind the 3-point line.
The Wolfpack will return to action on Dec. 15th in Atlantic City, New Jersey when it takes on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Boardwalk Classic.
