NC State couldn’t quite break the game completely open, but also weren’t threatened in a 81-72 win over Presbyterian in front of 12,949 fans at the Lenovo Center.
NC State improved to 2-0 and host Coastal Carolina on Nov. 13, and Presbyterian fell to 1-2.
The Wolfpack had four players in double figures, and leaned heavily on the seven seniors on the squad.
NC State senior center Ben Middlebrooks came off the bench for 16 second-half points, and senior shooting guard Jayden Taylor had a team-high 19 points in the victory.
NC State senior point guard Michael O’Connell chipped in 11 points and eight assists, with just one turnover, and senior center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 11 points and six rebounds.
“I think everybody played hard and we came in wanting to be 2-0,” Taylor said. “Everybody contributed and we got the win.”
Taylor had moments last year of carrying the offense, particularly when he had 28 points against Pittsburgh after D.J. Horne got injured in the last regular season game. His role fluctuated during the nine-game winning streak to the Final Four, but he understands the formula in winning games.
“It gave me confidence for sure, but that is who I am,” Taylor said.
NCSU was playing without redshirt juniors Ismael Diouf (NCAA suspension) and Mike James (injury), along with sophomore Dennis Parker (injury). That simplified the rotations and with the three freshmen combining for just eight minutes in the second half.
NC State built up a 14-point lead in the first half, but sophomore point guard Kory Mincy helped the Blue Hose “hang around” throughout the contest. Mincy scored a career-high 28 points and dished out four assists, while draining 4 of 5 on three-pointers.
Teammate Kobe Stewart on the wing added 20 points, and the Blue Hose had the game down to eight points after a 6-0 run to make it 65-57 with 8:03 left. Keatts knew they wouldn’t lay down and dubbed them “scrappy.”
“Mincy was really good,” Keatts said. “We threw a little bit of everything at him and he scored in every way, with 28 points.”
NC State shot 55.4 percent from the field thanks to 18 assists on 31 made field goals. In particular, the Wolfpack shot a semi-blistering 60.0 percent in the second half.
“This team right now, we are really passing the ball,” Keatts said. “We are getting everything we want out of it. We are going to continue to build.”
Middlebrooks made sure the Blue Hose weren’t going to get two close. He took charge over the final 15 minutes of the game with 14 points. NCSU went on a mini-10-3 run to stretch the lead to 75-60 with 3:24 left, and Middlebrooks had six of the points.
“He is an energy guy and when he doesn’t play with energy, he’s just OK sometimes,” Keatts said. “Brandon is probably more skilled.
“I love what he [Middlebrooks] did for us in the second half.”
Keatts let it be known that Middlebrooks is now 100 percent from the three-point line. He went 1 of 12 on three-pointers last year, but his shoot looks smoother now.
Middlebrooks and Keatts have the kind of relationship where Keatts knows what buttons to push. Twice he has joked that Middlebrooks has been living it up on Glenwood Ave during the offseason, and then last Monday after the opener, he joked about how he’ll never be on “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I don’t even know where to start and some I can’t repeat,” Middlebrooks said. “He likes to make some jokes and put some guys in the box for sure. He’s a great dude and a great coach. I like playing for him.”
Keatts expects two things from Middlebrooks each day — high energy and a smile while doing it.
“I just think he’s been around college basketball for so long that he sees the up’s and down’s,” Keatts said. “He understands the aspect of it. He never gets too high or too low. What is important is our team winning.”
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