Notebook: NC State juggles lineup in win over Mercer
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts is a superstitious man, but not even he was away of how he made sure history repeated a year later.
NCSU combo guard Braxton Beverly missed the first game last year while awaiting his ruling from the NCAA, and was cleared but didn’t play in the second contest. Beverly played the next four games off the bench and moved into the starting lineup against Tennessee in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 24, 2017.
Beverly again missed the season opener, this time due to a fractured left hand, played four games off the bench, and sure enough he was in the starting lineup against Mercer on Saturday creating an eerie path of following the same date — Nov. 24, 2018. NC State improved to 6-0 with a 78-74 win over Mercer led by fifth-year senior forward Torin Dorn’s 19 points.
“He spreads the floor, leadership and he can shoot the ball,” said Dorn on Beverly’s return to the lineup. “He does the right things. He has been here and been through all the battles with us. He has made a lot of big shots in big games.”
Beverly replaced redshirt sophomore Devon Daniels, who has been off to an uneven start this season.
“It was more about Devon than it was about Braxton,” said Keatts about the lineup change.
Beverly missed all four of his three-point field goals and even missed two crucial free throws to finish with one points and four assists in 23 minutes. Keatts either joked or was not joking that Beverly’s beard would be undergoing changes after his 0 of 4 effort.
“Braxton Beverly is now going to have to shave his beard,” Keatts said. “I told him if he ever went 0 for 4, he had to get rid of his beard. He and I will probably have a conversation tomorrow about that.”
Daniels was aggressive in hunting down his offense in his new bench role, but still couldn’t find his touch. He went 2 of 8 from the field and 1 of 5 on three-pointers to finish with nine points in 23 minutes of action. He has only scored more than 10 points once this season, when he busted out for 20 against UNC Asheville.
“I wanted to bring Devon off the bench to look at the game and see the flow of the game,” Keatts said. “I thought he was a little more comfortable today. I feel he has pressing the first few games.
“I had to do the same thing last year with Al Freeman.”
NC State gets tested at free-throw line
NC State hadn’t had to shoot any crucial free throws this season, due in part to none of the first five games being taxing down the stretch. NCSU led by as many as 21 points with 13:07 left in the second half, and odds were good that another blowout was in the works.
Instead, there was fifth-year senior Eric Lockett confidently stepping up to the free-throw line with 5.5 seconds left in a two-point game. He made both free throws to ensure Mercer didn’t have a chance to either win it or tie it on a three-pointer at the end.
NC State shot 5 of 8 on free throws over the final 40 seconds, giving the Wolfpack players some pressure at the line scenarios for the first time this season.
“We needed a game where we had to kind of finish the game,” Keatts said. “I thought we did some good things and certainly some things we needed to work on.”
NCSU struggled at the line overall Saturday, going just 16 of 29 for 55.2 percent, which won’t cut it in close games against better teams.
“We were 16 of 29 from the free-throw line tonight and we have to clean that up,” NCSU redshirt junior C.J. Bryce said. “It was the first close game we’ve had all season, but it was a great test for us and we obviously passed.
“They played hard and played until the last seconds on the clock.”
The Wolfpack entered the contest shooting 74.3 percent at the line, with only going 13 of 20 in the season opener against Mount St. Mary’s a similar outing.
“It is tough to win by a larger margin when you shoot 16 of 29 from the free-throw line,” Keatts said.
Upgrade in schedule on horizon
NC State opened last year with four easier opponents before thrust into playing No. 2-ranked Arizona in the Bahamas. NCSU shocked Arizona 90-84 and that helped set the tone for the rest of the season, even though the Wolfpack lost their next two games at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The first six game of this season have been against similar opponents, and now looming is playing at No. 25-ranked Wisconsin on Nov. 27. The 5-1 Badgers have already played Xavier, Stanford, Oklahoma and most recently dropped a 53-46 loss vs. Virginia in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. Arizona hadn’t been tested either going into last year’s game, but the Badgers know what playing in a possession-by-possession game is like.
“I haven’t had any chance to watch Wisconsin yet,” Keatts said. “I am one of those guys that is very superstitious where I won’t watch a team that we are playing until we play those guys. I’ll watch a little film tonight.
“It’s a different team, different year and different situation.”
Bryce is looking forward to the increase in competition and watched the Badgers play Virginia and one other contest this week.
“We have to clean up a couple of defensive switches there on help side,” Bryce said. “Our offense is going to come. We have some really talented guys on the team.”
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