Redshirt senior forward Lennard Freeman’s career-high 23 points lifted the NC State basketball team over Presbyterian in a comeback effort on Thursday night in PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack (4-0) took a few tumbles on the way to an 86-68 victory over the Blue Hose (1-2). Presbyterian stifled NC State in the latter half of the first, but due to a defensive turnaround and strong offensive production in the paint, the Wolfpack won its first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
“I told [the team] if you’re going to be a great pressing team, then obviously you’re going to have to come back in a lot of games,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “And I felt our press was very effective once we got in it.”
Sophomore guard Markell Johnson flourished once again for the Wolfpack. The Cleveland native scored 10 points and dished out seven assists. Johnson was also a problem for Presbyterian on the defensive end, notching four steals in a rejuvenated full-court press in the second half.
“[Keatts] knew our bodies were tired from playing four games in seven days,” Johnson said. “So he just told us to lock in mentally and come out strong, and to [work] hard for each other in the last 20 minutes.”
Two consecutive Blue Hose 3-pointers and two fast break layups added to Presbyterian’s first lead of the game at 34-29 with 5:26 left. A 21-6 run by the Blue Hose to end the first half overwhelmed the Wolfpack defense, and capitalized on inconsistent shots from State.
Presbyterian led 44-36 at halftime shooting 60 percent from the field with two players scoring in double digits. Freeman led the Pack shooting 5 for 6, recording 10 points and two blocks in the half.
“We just weren’t playing hard [in the first half],” Johnson said. “When you’re in the press you have to play hard, and we weren’t playing hard; so the halftime speech kind of woke us up.”
After making a few halftime adjustments, NC State came roaring back. Redshirt junior guard Torin Dorn dunked on an alley-oop from Johnson, igniting the crowd and encouraging a Wolfpack run.
The Pack took advantage of four-straight Blue Hose turnovers, committing 22 total, resulting in and-1 baskets from graduate transfer guard Allerik Freeman and Dorn.
Dorn’s basket would take the lead back at the 13:34 mark in the second half, and NC State never looked back. Dorn shouldered the point total for the guards and was a main contributor in the Pack’s resurgence, tallying 18 points along with nine rebounds and four assists.
“I thought our conditioning kicked in,” Keatts said. “When you look at it, we made free throws down the stretch. We were the fresher team towards the end.”
NC State’s endurance was the deciding factor in the end. Lennard Freeman has often been regarded as the player who most benefited from the offseason conditioning — and it showed against Presbyterian.
Lennard Freeman recorded a career-high 20 points on Tuesday versus Bryant, and swiftly topped it with 23 against the Blue Hose. The redshirt senior also grabbed seven boards and went 5 for 6 from the charity stripe.
“No matter who we play, we are one of the best conditioned teams,” Lennard Freeman said. “We just have to believe in the system, keep pressing, keep getting turnovers and eventually, we will wear them out.”
NC State will travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas to matchup against No. 3 Arizona on Wednesday as the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament continues.
