With less than four minutes left in its exhibition game against Lees-McRae, NC State men’s basketball probably expected to be up by at least 30 with younger players in. Instead, it was tied with a Division II team. The Wolfpack avoided the historic loss though as it pulled out a 79-75 win over the Bobcats Wednesday night at Lenovo Center.

If you ask head coach Kevin Keatts, it was a good thing that his team was in a tightly contested battle, even if it was a non-Division I team.

“As crazy as it sounds, I would much rather have this game than have a 40-point win, because I don’t get a chance to see guys be able to react,” Keatts said. “I just wanted the guys to play through some different stuff. I could have stopped a couple of runs but I wanted our guys to figure it out, and then we would get better for it.”

The biggest difference between last year’s Pack squad and this one is the absence of an alpha scorer. Last season, NC State could always rely on guard DJ Horne to make a play out of nothing or for forward DJ Burns to back down even the best of defenders. Senior guard Jayden Taylor was the closest, with a team-high 11 shots, but struggled to create his own shots throughout the night. For the Wolfpack to enjoy a strong year, it’s crucial that a go-to scorer emerges.

In the frontcourt, the red-and-white certainly missed Burns’ presence. Senior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield earned the start at the five but was not a focal point offensively. On defense, the Louisville transfer racked up fouls quickly, aggressively trying to protect the paint.

Meanwhile, senior forward Ben Middlebrooks looked out of rhythm, only shooting 2-8 from the field and 2-5 at the line, while turning the ball over four times.

“I just never thought they got involved,” Keatts said. “They never were aggressive. And then Ben got aggressive, and then we missed a lot of shots around the rim that we left out there. And I don’t worry about those guys. I’ve seen those guys play at a high level. I know how good they’re going to be.”

NC State’s 3-point shooting looked streaky at best. Within minutes of tipoff, the Wolfpack scored three times from beyond the arc, all coming from the corner. However, the red-and-white went ice cold after that, failing to make a single triple in the second half. The Pack needs the 3-ball to open up its offense once the regular season rolls around — otherwise, teams can crowd the paint and stifle the red-and-white.

“We’re all trying to figure it out,” said graduate guard Michael O’Connell. “Trying to play off each other, and learn where guys like to get their shots, where guys like to get to in their spot, stuff like that. So it’s always gonna be a work in progress. We had this last year too. It wasn’t perfect at the beginning of the year. It took some time.”

Compounding the Pack’s struggles, the Bobcats relentlessly forced turnovers all game. With 19 turnovers, including 11 in the second half, NC State must play cleaner moving forward. The turnovers nearly caught up to the Pack, allowing Lees-McRae to outscore NC State by 15 in the final 20 minutes.

“I think we were just letting the other team speed us up,” O’Connell said. “I think we definitely don’t play like that every day in practice, and we have pretty good pressure. So I think we were just letting the other team speed us up a little bit.”

If there’s one thing for NC State fans to be optimistic about, it’s the play of freshman guard Bryce Heard. The Chicago native cooked Lees-McRae in the first half, pacing the Pack with seven points on 3-3 shooting, including a corner 3 on his first shot. Despite reclassifying to play college basketball a year early, Heard looked the part and could be an important part of the Wolfpack’s rotation.

“He’s starting to feel comfortable,” Keatts said. “He’s got a really strong knowledge of the game. He knows how to play where most freshmen you’re trying to figure out defensively how not to be a liability and able to score. … He understands spacing, he knows how to cut, and so that’s going to help him.”

NC State will tip off its season on Monday, Nov. 4 against USC Upstate. Prior to the game, the Wolfpack will unveil two new banners, celebrating last season’s ACC Championship victory and trip to the Final Four. Tipoff at the Lenovo Center is set for 7 p.m.

“How often do you get to raise two banners?” Keatts said. “I’m happy for our fans. I’m happy for our students. I’m happy for our team. I’m happy for our city. … We delivered something that has happened in such a long time with a team that no one expected to happen and that’s beautiful.”