The NC State men’s basketball team took on the Mount Olive Trojans Sunday in its only exhibition game ahead of the 2019-20 season. The Pack won handily by a score of 113-73.
Every single NC State player that saw the court scored a bucket, including freshmen Chase Graham and Max Farthing. NC State’s veteran backcourt looked stellar in the game and further cemented itself among the upper echelons of elite backcourts in the ACC.
“When we look at our veteran guards, all three of those guys played a tremendous game,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “They controlled the game, went to the free-throw line, they made shots. If I can get three or four of those guys, [junior point guard Braxton Beverly] being the other one, playing well every night, we’ll have the chance to win every game.”
Senior guard Markell Johnson finished with 26 points on 50% shooting from the floor, as well as finishing 3 for 7 from deep. In the first half, Johnson shot 75% from deep. Johnson also finished the game with nine assists, three rebounds and a whopping six steals.
“We are going to have many types of strengths, offensive buckets leading from the defensive side,” Johnson said. “We can score in many different ways, and we can defend, so I’m feeling confident about the team this year.”
Mount Olive committed six turnovers in the opening four minutes of the half, playing rough all-around basketball. The Pack was able to capitalize on this sloppy play, opening on a 13-0 run before the Trojans were forced to call a timeout. The Trojans finished with an abysmal 24 turnovers compared to NC State’s 10. The Trojans also committed six more fouls than the Wolfpack.
The first game in PNC Arena since March was kicked off with a quick bucket by redshirt junior Devon Daniels, followed just a little bit later by an electrifying block from redshirt freshman Manny Bates, jump-starting what would be an impressive offensive and defensive showing by the Pack in its exhibition.
“I thought we did some really good things out here,” Keatts said. “I wanted to see some improvement from our scrimmage game. I thought we came out both halves very solid. I think we played hard on both ends. It was a good takeaway. I told the guys this would be our last dress rehearsal before we open the season against Georgia Tech, which is a huge game for not just us, but for the whole conference. I like where we are at right now.”
Daniels finished the day with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting and six rebounds, to go along with three steals of his own and one electric block on what looked like a wide-open transition dunk for the Trojans. Daniels looked smooth on the court, with his shot falling down at an excellent rate.
“I try to bring a lot of energy, focus and passion to the court,” Daniels said. “The scrimmage and the preseason games, they’re just kind of a tune-in for me so I can make sure I can be consistent every night.”
Meanwhile, the third impressive veteran guard, redshirt senior C.J. Bryce, finished the day with a near-triple-double. Bryce capped off his day with 20 points, tying Daniels for second most on the team, as well as 10 rebounds, six assists, one block and four steals, stuffing the stat sheet.
The last of the impressive offensive players for the Pack was graduate forward Pat Andree, who had a rough first half, shooting just 1 for 6 from the floor and making none of his three 3-point attempts. Andree turned it around in the second half, however, finishing with 17 points on 40% shooting from the floor and 37.5% from deep. In the second half, Andree shot 60% from deep. He also finished just behind Bryce for best box plus/minus on the team, finishing plus-35 to Bryce’s plus-36.
Even with all of its offensive production, the Pack only outscored the Trojans 49-43 in the second half. The Trojans set the floor ablaze in the second half, shooting 46.9% from the floor and 46.7% from deep. This is compared to their first-half production, where they shot 35.5% from the floor and 27.3% from deep, being outscored in the first half 64-30. Both guard Jeremiah Phifer, who finished with 19 points on 50% shooting from beyond the arc, and guard Cam Robinson, who finished with 12 points, looked impressive during the run for the Pack.
Despite only being credited for two, redshirt freshman Manny Bates finished the game with four strong blocks, exciting the crowd and energizing his team. Bates also ended regulation with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with four rebounds, three of which were offensive boards. Bates finished as a plus-16 in just 20 minutes of game time.
“Really good, and he’s just going to keep getting better,” Daniels said about Bates’s play. “He protects the rim very well, and on the rolls, we just throw it right up to him, so he’s going to keep on getting better, and he played a good amount.”
The Wolfpack iced the game after a Mount Olive run, drilling three straight 3-pointers from three different players. Freshmen Graham and Farthing each hit one, while juco transfer redshirt sophomore A.J. Taylor hit one as well.
The team won despite missing freshman Dereon Seabron, who twisted his ankle, and sophomore Jericole Hellems, who was experiencing some shoulder discomfort before the start of the second half.
“If anybody sneezed wrong, I wasn’t going to let them play in the game,” Keatts said. “I think [Hellems] just bumped his shoulder, and he’ll be fine. Seabron turned his ankle pretty bad three days ago in practice. X-rays were negative, and he should be fine; I don’t have a timetable for how long he will be out though.”
The men’s basketball team returns to PNC Arena when it takes on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Nov. 5. Instead of taking on more nonconference teams like last year, the Wolfpack will enter its season by taking on an ACC rival the team lost to at home last season.
Redshirt junior guard Decon Daniels shoots a three pointer during the game versus the University of Mount Olive on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019 in PNC Arena. Daniels shot 6-7 and scored 20 points against the Trojans. NC State beat Mount Olive 113-73.
