NC State came out sharp and never had a lull, like ever.
Sophomore shooting guard Terquavion Smith scored 26 points and added five assists to lead the Wolfpack to a 99-50 victory over Austin Peay at PNC Arena on Monday.
The Wolfpack were business-like on both ends of the court and never allowed a run longer than four points against the Governors. The intensity and energy never wavered during the first 36 minutes, allowing coach Kevin Keatts to empty the bench for the walk-ons.
After the difficulty of last year’s 11-21 overall mark, it’s clear the Wolfpack have adopted a fresh start. The team was completely locked in.
“It’s a different energy,” said redshirt junior wing Casey Morsell, who knows the difference a year makes. “It’s a different vibe, a different spirit. I think one of the big things we are doing this year is that we value getting stops. We value slowing teams down and taking them out of their game.”
Ole Miss senior point guard transfer Jarkel Joiner added 18 points and eight assists, and half-joked that this was his sixth and last college season opener. Joiner is part of the new wave of transfers, who have no interest in struggling like last year’s injury-riddled Wolfpack squad.
“We are just trying to make our own mark,” Joiner said. “It felt fresh, a new year. It was fun tonight.
“All the transfers have something to prove this year. We are doing it as a collective, as a group.”
Keatts credited not having any lulls by playing four-minute segments at a time. It’s a cliche, but he wanted the players to think it was 0-0 at halftime.
“It was good energy for an opening night,” Keatts said. “We came out with a lot of passion and set the tone on the defensive end. I thought we did some really good things.
“I’m proud we were able to turn them over 20 times. They have great size for a mid-major team, but I thought we did a good job.”
NC State finished with five players in double figures en route to shooting an impressive 60.6 percent from the field. It seemed clear the guys were having fun.
“We are having fun and enjoying really playing with each other, and had a good trip to the Bahamas [in early August],” Morsell said. “We are growing and heading in the right direction.”
The Wolfpack played hard last year, but were typically one-dimensional and it usually caught up to them down the stretch of games. The offense often bogged down to players going one-on-one due to lack of scoring in the post.
NC State finished with 20 assists and 11 turnovers Monday.
“We value sharing the ball and being a good team,” Morsell said. “We have great chemistry and communicate well. We just want to keep building.”
Keatts tightened his rotation to eight players until about seven minutes left in the game.
“We played on both ends of the floor,” Keatts said. “When you have some older guys, I can give a guy like Jarkel Joiner, you can talk to him and he can lead our younger guys.”
The lead just kept growing and growing all throughout the first half, actually peaking on redshirt junior center D.J. Burns’ last basket before halftime to make it 49-21. The lead grew to 51 points in the second half, duplicating such a steady and consistent climb.
NC State played concerted effort on defense, holding Austin Peay to 31.0 percent from the field and surprisingly 1 of 8 on three-pointers for the game. Austin Peay coach Nate James and the Governors had set a school record last year for made three-pointers. James, a former Duke player and assistant coach, found the sledding much tougher in his season opener.
NC State played without injured power forward Greg Gantt, who was hoping to play his first Wolfpack game. Keatts said his surgically repaired knee was sore after getting an injection, but is hopeful he’ll be back soon.
NC State returns to action against Campbell on Friday at PNC Arena.
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