NC State’s 1st Half Effort Outlasts Little Rock 74-58

NC State’s effort against Little Rock in the first half was one of the best halves of basketball I’ve seen this team play. The second half was another story. In the end, maybe it doesn’t much matter, with the Wolfpack beating Trojans 74-58 to improve to 5-1 on the year.

It wasn’t a matter of NC State’s offense faltering in the second half, but it was a defensive lapse. The Wolfpack held Little Rock to 27.6% shooting in the 1st half, but allowed them to shoot 46.7% in the second.

Redshirt Senior Guard C.J. Bryce continued his early season dominance, leading the Wolfpack with 18 points, on 7-11 shooting. He also added 6 rebounds.

Senior Guard Markell Johnson was the only other player in double figures, scoring 12 points, shooting an efficient 5 of 9 from the field, and 2 of 5 from beyond the arch.

Sophomore Jericole Hellems was the Swiss Army knife today, with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

Freshman Manny Bates had 3 blocks, and at this point, that number isn’t even impressive anymore. I’m so used to him blocking shots, that I don’t even remember him blocking shots.

NC State covered the spread this afternoon as 15-point favorites, but they were outplayed in the second half. The ACC is deadly, and conference play looms in the future, but there are also several challenging non-conference opponents on the horizon. The Wolfpack has to learn to play 40 minutes.

NC State was out rebounded 37-33 on the boards, and 12-7 on the offensive glass. They did turn their opponent over 18 times, but also sloppily turned it over 15 times themselves.

The Wolfpack will need to play a full game on Thanksgiving Day, when they play #16 Memphis. Even with the Tigers lacking James Wiseman, NC State will need to play with the effort they played with in the 1st half today.