NC State got to experience a game where every possession counted.
NCSU senior point guard Jarkel Joiner proved he was comfortable making big plays and key times with two mid-range jumpers in the last 83 seconds of the game to pull out a 73-67 win over Campbell at PNC Arena. The second jumper with 31 seconds left helped clinch the win and extend the lead to 71-67. NC State improved to 2-0 on the young season.
“You look around at college basketball, there is so much parity now,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. “When you play against teams like Campbell, the reason why I scheduled them because they were a unique offensive team.
“Down the stretch, our veteran point guard Jarkel Joiner took over the game and did a great job. It was a gritty win for us.”
Joiner finished with 17 points and just one turnover in 35:54 minutes, doing whatever little things the Wolfpack needed.
“The coaches and the team trust me,” Joiner said. “Whatever they need me to do, it doesn’t matter. I’m pretty comfortable with my mid-range game.”
Campbell is comfortable playing deep into the shot clock and the game was decidedly at the Fighting Camels pace. If Campbell was a football team, the analogy is that they run the wishbone and eat up the time of possession.
“They will make you guard for 30 seconds,” Keatts said. “I thought they came in with a complete and great game plan.”
NC State made its opportunities count in the first half to build a 39-34 lead behind 17 points from sophomore wing Terquavion Smith.
Smith came out gunning from deep and made 4 of 5 on three-pointers in the first half, with one ending up being a four-point play. He set an NC State record for being the fastest player in program history to 100 three-pointer’s made. However, Smith went cold in the second half — 0 of 4 from the field — putting his teammates to the test of creating offense without him.
Keatts said Smith had a minor ankle injury in practice this week, but he played all 40 minutes and finished with 19 points.
“You look around the league and there have been a lot of down to the buzzer games,” Smith said.
The other great equalizer to Campbell’s low possession game was getting to the free-throw line. NC State fouled out two Campbell starters and went 21 of 32 at the line for 65.6 percent. In turn, Campbell really struggled at the line in its fewer opportunities — 7 of 18 for 38.9 percent.
NC State had 66 field-goal attempts against Austin Peay, but with the shortened game, had 48 attempts vs. Campbell.
“You just have to have that grit, which we take great pride in,” NC State redshirt junior center D.J. Burns said.
If it wasn’t Smith delivering in the first half, it was center Burns, who had two nice assists and a basket off the bench to spark the Wolfpack. Burns has a long history of playing against Campbell’s style from his days in the Big South at Winthrop. Burns went 6-0 against Campbell since 2019, including going for 22 points in the Big South title game in 2021. He averaged 12.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in the six meetings.
“It’s a real competitive game and they are going to give their best every time,” Burns said. “They have a unique offense and it’s something we had to prepare for. The actions that they are running are tough to guard if you aren’t prepared at all the times.”
Campbell shot an impressive 10 of 18 on three-pointers to keep pace. The Fighting Camels tried to create mismatches against Burns and center Dusan Mahorcic. Sometimes it led to point guard Ricky Clemons driving to the rim, or a post player popping out for a three-pointer. Clemons led the way with 18 points, and post players Joshua Lusane and Jesus Carralero combined for 24 points.
“When I was at Wilmington and we played against bigger teams, our centers would have great games,” Keatts said. “Devontae Cacok had great games. Those guys are typically 6-6, 6-7 and they can drive you.
“We wanted to switch one-through-five with Dusan, but they did a great job of isolating him and driving him to the basket. We then had to make another adjustment.”
NC State returns to action against Florida International at 9 p.m. Tuesday at PNC Arena.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
