Despite playing its first game in two weeks with just nine players available on its roster, NC State led an experienced Saint Louis team 51-45 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

That’s when the Wolfpack (3-1) began to show the signs of a team that had to take an eight-day pause just eight days after its season opener. And a team that had to play each of its starters for at least 34 minutes with a limited seven-man rotation.

Saint Louis (6-0) outscored NC State 31-14 in the final 11 minutes of the second half and came away with a double-digit victory despite trailing the Pack for nearly three-quarters of the contest.

“We really did some good things,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I know the score is going to say 11 points, but if you watch the game, it was a four-or-five point game and then obviously got away at the end in the last four or five minutes of the game. We did some good stuff, but it's tough. When you play a really good team and you're playing seven people, that's not a great formula to win.

“Certainly, I got to give my guys a lot of credit, they fought. They fought all the way to the end and certainly, we'll get better. This loss will help us get better.”

The odds were stacked against the Wolfpack entering the contest. Not only was it simply low on bodies to play, but the Pack also missed the presence of fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk and freshman guard Cam Hayes.

NC State had just six players in practice Saturday and had eight through Tuesday. The Wolfpack had several flashes to encourage itself moving forward but ultimately struggled to find its basketball stamina down the stretch.

“I'm not here to make excuses or anything, but we haven't played a game in two weeks,” senior guard Braxton Beverly said. “They've been playing, they're a veteran club, and they have a really good team. They won a lot of games last year and they have basically every single person back that was a part of that. There's a lot to be positive about going forward. There's a lot we can learn from this, and that will help us build and become better.”

Redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates had a career performance and displayed some improved areas of his game with a heightened role in the absence of Funderburk, his typical colleague in the low post.

The 6-11, 230-pounder scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He also had eight blocks in 37 minutes, both career-highs, and he was one of the main reasons why the Pack led for most of Thursday night.

“Manny's doing what I've seen the entire offseason,” Keatts said. “The biggest thing for him and what he showed me tonight is that he can play a game without fouling out. We needed him to stay in a game, and he was aggressive. He scored in every different way. He played a majority of the game, and I wanted that.

“I needed him to be able to show us he can play on the floor. I don't know how many shot blocks he had, I think it was six at half time. He changed the game, he was really good. He did some really good stuff, especially because he had to play so many minutes because we have a short bench.”

Bates’ previous scoring career-high was a 13-point performance against Pittsburgh in late February of the 2019-20 season.

Two areas of his game were the focus for him individually this offseason: defending without fouling and developing an offensive skill set.

Despite taking a loss, Thursday night was a mission accomplished for the Wolfpack big man. He shot an efficient 8-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-6 from the foul line, and went into halftime with six blocks and just one foul.

“He had his offensive game going,” Beverly said. “He's worked really hard in the offseason to become an offensive threat as well, and that shows. He was great. That's what we need from him going forward. He's a veteran guy, he's been here, he knows how it works. I'm proud of him and really happy for him.”

Accomplishing so many career-highs in a loss will leave a bittersweet taste in his mouth, but Bates provided a solid foundation to build upon during the quick road trip to Saint Louis.

“I'm never a big stat guy, I'm just looking to win,” Bates said. “I just want to win. That's all that matters to me… It does give me a boost of confidence. I've been working on getting comfortable in practice, playing in the post and having the ball in my hand.”

The most glaring disparity from the box score came in the rebounding category. The Wolfpack was outrebounded by the Billikens 53-26.

Saint Louis entered the game ranked tied for 39th nationally in rebounding margin, averaging nine more boards per game than its opponents. SLU may crack into the top ten after Thursday night.

NC State was outrebounded on the offensive glass 15-6 and was outscored on second-chance points 14-6.

“We just got to get better in certain areas,” Keatts said. “My biggest issue was that we got beat up on the backboard and we got beat to 50-50 balls. We got to get better in those areas.”

Some of it was due to tired legs, some of it was due to the absence of Funderburk, but the Wolfpack hadn’t exactly been rebounding at a high clip even before its two-week gap.

Despite outsourcing its opponents by an average of 33.3 points per game in its first three contests, the Pack was outrebounded 33.7-33.3 in that same stretch.

“It's always tough, but due to the situation, we just got to fight with who we have,” Bates said. “That's what we did today, we fought. We just got to get back, watch film and get better in practice.”

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