NC State won its 2020-21 season opener in Reynolds Coliseum Wednesday night 95-61 over Charleston Southern, but it took the Wolfpack the better part of the first half to separate itself from the outmatched Buccaneers.

Fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels didn’t need much time to get ready, however. The 6-5, 200-pounder scored 17 of the Pack’s first 23 points in the opening 10 minutes and went to the locker room with 20 first-half points on eight-of-13 shooting. He also made 3 of 4 three-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Daniels’ hot start blossomed into a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, both numbers that led the team.

“Give Devon Daniels a lot of credit,” NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “He played like a senior.”

He made all three of his second-half attempts, including one three, to finish the night going 11 of 16 from the field and 4 of 5 from behind the three-point line.

“I know the work I put in,” Daniels said. “I'm very confident in it. I'm just out there playing, I don't think much. I just read and react. If the shot is there, it's going up. No hesitation.”

The Pack didn’t require a dazzling performance from Daniels to beat Charleston Southern, who was missing preseason Big South Player of the Year Phlandrous Fleming Jr, but it certainly benefited from the senior’s big night.

NC State led by just three points with 5:04 remaining in the first half and closed on an 11-2 run to take a 43-31 lead into the locker room.

The Wolfpack picked up right where it left off, stretching its lead to 28 points with 12 minutes to go after a 21-5 run in the opening eight minutes of the second half.

“Once we got the first game jitters out of the way, I feel like we really got in a nice rhythm,” Daniels said. “I had a lot of fun, it was fun out there. It's truly a blessing. We didn't even know if we were going to have a season this year, so it's truly a blessing and I'm grateful for it.”

Keatts was still unsure of who would make up his starting lineup entering the season opener, but one of the biggest preseason questions centered around the point guard position.

While the fourth-year head coach could’ve rolled out freshman Cam Hayes, he decided to go with the experienced senior Braxton Beverly. At least to start.

Beverly split point guard duties with Hayes but played 25 minutes compared to 18 for the freshman.

“He's a shot-maker,” Keatts said. “He's a smart player, he makes great decisions and when he's playing good basketball, it's another dimension that adds to our team. Braxton Beverly falls every game, and he's going to fall every game. But one thing about it is, he's always going to get up.

“He's a tough kid and he plays through stuff that most people would sit out for months. That's why I like the kid. He's what NC State's all about. Hard hat, brings it every game, and certainly when he's playing good basketball, that makes us a good basketball team.”

Beverly finished second in scoring on the team with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 3-for-4 mark from the perimeter.

He also tied for a team-high four assists and came away with three steals.

“It's been a while since I've been the designated point guard, so it's definitely taken a little bit to get back into,” Beverly said. “I have a background with it. Even though Markell [Johnson] was the point guard, I still got to be alongside him. It wasn't too much to really get back used to.”

Beverly is known to be a knock-down perimeter shooter, but he struggled with his shot at times last season partly due to a hurt back he played through during the conference schedule.

For several weeks at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, Beverly couldn’t even sit on the bench during timeouts or breaks due to spasms.

Now over eight months have passed since the Wolfpack last took the court, which has allowed Beverly to heal, something that could help the sharpshooter find more consistency in his game.

“It feels great,” Beverly said. “My main focus during this offseason was just to get healthy, so I can get this team everything I got. I felt like I didn't get to do that last season, so that was my main focus. To get as healthy as possible. I feel good now, I feel comfortable, I feel healthy.”

Beverly took a hard fall in the second half on a fast break layup attempt off of a stolen pass with 16:38 remaining. The inadvertent hack that caused the fall resulted in a technical foul for Charleston Southern, which sent the 76.1 career percent free throw shooter to the line for two.

He made both and followed it up with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession.

“Yes, it's a little sore but it's going to be okay,” Beverly said of his back after the fall. “I'm going to get through it.”

Keatts went with a starting lineup that included four upperclassmen and one sophomore, but his large group of freshmen saw plenty of time on the floor Wednesday night and it didn’t take long.

Hayes was the first to come in at the 17:13 mark in the first half, but every freshman that suited up in the opener appeared in the first six minutes of the contest.

“I wanted to bring those guys off the bench and play the veterans because I wanted them to see the game and see how the game would flow,” Keatts said. “I thought they did a good job once everybody settled in.”

“When we went to the bench, we were slow. Devon was the only guy scoring. I thought those guys came in and gave us a lift right away.”

Forward Nick Farrar didn’t suit up for the game and was the only freshman to make an appearance in the first game of the 2020-21 season.

Hayes’ 18 minutes was the most of the group with freshman guard Skakeel Moore and redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron not far behind with 15 minutes apiece. Freshman forward Ebenezer Dowuona and Jaylon Gibson added 11 and nine minutes, respectively.

Moore had nine points, the most among the freshmen, followed by Seabron (seven) and Hayes (four).

Hayes tied for a team-high four assists. He and Moore also had four steals apiece, which tied for the most on the team.

Dowuona and Gibson both had two points and one rebound.

“I thought they played hard,” Keatts said. “I knew they were going to make some mistakes. I knew that they were going to miss some shots. I knew they were going to blow some assignments because that's what freshmen do. They all played extremely hard.”

12 of NC State’s 13 active players Wednesday night scored at least two points.

The head coach believes the quick rhythm his freshmen were able to find is partly due to the veterans embracing them and preparing them for competition at the college level.

“I've asked those guys to be mentors, and I haven't told them who to mentor but you can see everybody's grabbing one of the young guys and being a mentor to them,” Keatts said. “Braxton's done it with Seabron. DJ loves to pull Jaylon Gibson to the side. Devon Daniels, I had to talk to him because he's so competitive, when Jaylon would make a mistake in practice, he would just kind of lose it and get a bad attitude. I was like, 'Dude, he's a freshman, what do you want him to do? Teach him,'

“I think now those guys are understanding, they're listening. They're trying to help these guys along. We're teaching them that no one's coming in to take anybody's position, we're all on the same team now. On any given night, I can have a different starter, so I want you to work together to become a great team.”

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