NC State put away Colgate early with a devastating 17-0 run to improve to 4-0 on the young season.
NC State senior center Ben Middlebrooks had 19 points — on the strength of making all nine free throws — and senior guard Marcus Hill had 10 of his 17 points in the second half.
NCSU relied on its defense in suffocating Colgate (1-3 overall), who likes to play a Princeton style offense. The finesse style also led to NC State making 21 of 26 free throws, while Colgate went 2 of 5. NC State forced 16 turnovers — 11 in the first half — and held the Raiders to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
“I thought we were locked in defensively,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “We hadn't held a team under 50 points since 2021, and I thought our guys came on with a lot of energy and did some really good things.”
Keatts isn’t a stranger in facing Colgate. The Raiders threw a scare into the Wolfpack on Nov. 13, 2021, falling 77-74 at what was then called the PNC Arena. Colgate senior center Jeff Woodward and NC State senior guard Breon Pass are the lone remaining players from that contest.
The difference in that meeting is Colgate shot 12 of 28 from three-point land, with star guard Nelly Cummings making 5 of 7. He later transferred to Pittsburgh. Coach Matt Langel recently scared Syracuse, falling 74-72 on Nov. 12. Sophomore guard Jalen Cox led the way with 21 points in the near-upset. However, Cox went down with a game-ending injury against NC State and the Colgate offense lost its juice Monday.
Langel has led Colgate to at least 23 wins in five of the last six seasons, and the sixth year, the team went 11-1 in a COVID-shortened campaign.
Keatts is hoping the win over Colgate will look good on the resume in March.
“We got to still got to grow in some areas, but I really like the things that's happening with our team,” Keatts said. “We got talent, but it's not always a talented team that wins. It's the team that comes together in this era. I just want our guys to continue to grow.”
NC State smartly used its size advantage with 6-foot-10 senior centers Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Middlebrooks combining to go 9-of-18 for 30 points.
“Ben had three great days of practice leading to this, where he just played with tremendous energy,” Keatts said. “I love our center position. When you look at between Ben and Brandon with their, with their averaging, both rebounds and points, I think we're doing a really good job.”
NC State went 0 of 10 against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 13, so it was important to Snape that streak. Seniors Pass and Dontrez Styles did that with back-to-back three-pointers. Add in a Jayden Taylor layup and the lead grew to 27-10 with 5:46 left in the first half. That is when Cox got injured.
Hill had averaged 20.5 points per game at Bowling Green last year, and he was able to reach double figures for the second time in four games with NC State. Hill proved adept doing what he does best — get to the rim and draw fouls.
“See Marcus get back to his groove and play his game,” Keatts said. “A lot of times when you transfer here, you always trying to overthink and we just said, ‘Hey, just simplify the game in your mind and just play.’ That was the Marcus Hill that we recruited — a guy that can get to the rack.”
Hill wanted to provide energy for the Wolfpack and showed the “Bowling Green Marcus Hill.”
“I’m getting more comfortable every game,” Hill said. “It felt good and my teammates cheered me on.”
NC State played without three players as redshirt junior wing Mike James is expected to return in December, and junior power forward Ismael Diouf (elbow) and freshman point guard Treymane Parker (wrist) both have deep bruises and are day-to-day. The injuries have simplified NC State’s rotation with nine players playing at least 16 minutes.
NC State returns to action against William & Mary at 7 p.m. Friday. The Tribe have a first-year coach and are off to a 3-3 start this season.
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