NC State Hangs On to Beat Mercer 78-74

NC State (6-0) was a 19-point favorite over Mercer (3-3) last night, but only managed to squeak out a 4-point victory over the Bears, 78-74.

After defeating the first 5 opponents by an average of 38.8 points, no one expected Mercer to push the Wolfpack.

The close game could be a blessing in disguise. Going into the matchup against #25 Wisconsin on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Tuesday night without being tested prior would have been a rude awakening.

There are a lot of things to not like about the Wolfpack’s showing against Mercer.

The Bears managed to out-rebound NC State 35-20.

They outshot the Wolfpack. Mercer shot 52.3% from the field, while NC State shot 45%.

The home team shot a dismal 55.2% from the charity stripe.

NC State only had 12 assists in the contest, which is much lower than they are accustomed to.

On a positive note, the Wolfpack did turnover the bears 23 times.

Senior Torin Dorn led the team in points (19), rebounds (9) and steals (3).

Junior CJ Bryce chipped in 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Junior Markell Johnson’s three-ball was clutch, sinking 4 of his 8 attempts. Johnson finished the night with 16 points.

The Wolfpack was best when Dorn, Junior Wyatt Walker and Bryce were on the court, posting +/- of 12, 14 and 9 respectively.

The real positive is that NC State managed to win the basketball game when they played poorly.

The Wolfpack and the Wisconsin Badgers will tipoff up in Madison on Tuesday night at 9pm in the ACC/BigTen Challenge.