Richmond came out guns blazing as they raced out of the gates and displayed lights out shooting in the first half. At the half Richmond was shooting a sizzling 72 % from the field. The Wolfpack were able to stay ahead and even lead at intermission thanks to Trevor Lacey who unleashed his full arsenal of offensive moves in route to a 26-point night!

No disputing that this was a fun game to watch as both teams played fast and were making some tough shots; however, State was able to hold the Spider under 35 % shooting in the second half. Half-time adjustments were spot on as State ran the Spiders off the 3-Point line and used their superior length to force contested looks. The Pack also mixed in some zone to keep Richmond guessing; in the end NC State’s size proved too much for the Spiders to overcome. Kendall Anthony proved to be as tough as advertised and battled most of the night on his way to 17 points for the Spiders, but was simply too small standing at 5-8 to defend Lacey on the other end.

Overall there are a couple of points of emphasis that can be gathered from our game against the Spider’s.

1. Offensively Ralston and Trevor must carry the load:

The two guards were excellent tonight as they combined for 49 points while shooting a combined 60% from the field.  Lacey was aggressive in the first half taking advantage of his size and strength to get to the rim and the foul line. He also knocked down the three-ball when his defender backed off of him. When Trevor is decisive with his offensive moves he is tough to guard. I love when he incorporates the sweep through one dribble pull up from 15-18 feet out; it is extremely difficult to defend as he puts the defender on their heels.

Just as Trevor was cooling off Ralston finally displayed the offensive game that I know he is capable of! He didn’t settle early for contested three pointers and used his size and strength to get into the lane. Tonight he scored the ball a variety of ways ranging from step in three pointers, pull-ups, floaters, and a nifty mid-range step back. Ralston has the skill to score the ball in a wide-range of ways; he simply cannot be content to just bomb three pointers! He is too good and our team needs him to be a more complete player offensively, if we are to contend for a top-5 finish in the ACC.

2. Stretch 4’s and 5’s will be problematic:

As good as BeeJay is underneath he struggles mightily on the perimeter at closing out on three point shooters. TJ Cline of the Spider’s lit the Pack up from distance as he rattled home four three’s in the contest, most of his looks were uncontested as our big’s were late or content to watch him shoot. BeeJay must learn how to leverage his outstanding length to contest the shooters while still giving up enough room to not get beat to the rim. I believe BeeJay will learn how to do this as he gains more experience at defending stretch 4’s and 5’s.

Tonight was a great benefit to have Freeman and Abu as they were more capable of using their length and quickness to help run them off the 3-point line in the second half. The second half was a great example of how our team is willing to be coached! Defensively in the first half we were awful; however, in the second half we came out with energy and different matchups, which resulted in us getting the win tonight. Hats off to Coach Gottfried and his Staff as they made great calls on the fly which helped derail a red-hot shooting team in the Richmond Spider’s.

3. Just Play!!!!!

This simple phrase can be heard frequently from our sidelines, as our coaches want our players to play through bad calls, turnovers, mental lapses, and circumstances. It’s a wonderful philosophy that I believe helps our players operate more freely throughout the game. We could have easily lost against a team that came out and shot 72 % in the first half, we could of hung our heads, yet we didn’t! We fought through and trusted our game plan!

Our guys played through the hot shooting and answered by shooting over 55% in the first half and battled offensively to keep pace. Then we settled in defensively and trusted one another in the second half to close the game out!

Let’s give credit to our guys; this game was the prototypical “Trap Game.” Last day of classes before Thanksgiving break, and we have to play two games in three days, yet our guys were up to the challenge! I know Gottfried is at home proud of our guys mental toughness to get a win and really execute down the stretch, especially given our most recent performance this past Sunday versus USF.

The road does not get any easier on Friday, as the Pack square off against the Boise State Broncos at the PNC Arena at 7PM. The Broncos are an experienced team that won 21 games a season ago; they have also been tested early as they lost to the Wisconsin Badgers on the road a week ago.

Boise State also has two players among the top 30 active Division I scoring leaders in Senior Guards Drmic (1,506 pts.) and Marks (1,354 pts.) Will the Pack to be up to the task to stop this dynamic duo?  We will find out Friday! Show your support for the team, as they will need extra fans as students are away on break.