Ben Middlebrooks slapped the ball out of the air and looked down menacingly on Presbyterian’s Kory Mincy, telling him to “get out of here.”
The Wolfpack struggled to fully break away until the final minutes against its Big South opponent, but Middlebrooks’ block seemed to be the nail in the coffin. N.C. State defeated Presbyterian, 81-72, and moved to 2-0 on the season.
The Blue Hose (1-2) kept the game close early in the first half, trailing the Wolfpack by one point three different times. They stayed in the game, in part, due to an ability to capitalize on N.C. State’s mistakes. Presbyterian scored seven points on Wolfpack turnovers in the first half.
Its aggressive and fearless style of play continued into the second half as N.C. State outscored the visitors 43-39 after the break.
Four players, led by senior Jayden Taylor at 19 points, finished in double figures. Middlebrooks contributed 16 points, all of which came in the second half.
The Wolfpack played Friday without Ismael Diouf, Mike James and Dennis Parker Jr. Diouf has been serving a two-game NCAA suspension due to his affiliation with the Montreal Alliance, a Canadian pro team. He is expected to return next week.
James remains out due to injury. No information regarding Parker Jr.’s absence was given before the game.
Here are three takeaways from N.C. State’s win:
Presbyterian entered the game as the clear underdog, but it didn’t play like it. The Blue Hose got out to a strong start, going 7 of 11 from the field. In a three minute stretch, Presbyterian made five straight field goals.
Kobe Stewart, who opened the night 5 of 5, contributed four baskets in that span. The Wolfpack offense took a 14-point lead in the first half, but it gave up a 6-0 run on defense and limited the team’s ability to break away before the break.
Presbyterian was picked to finish eighth in Big South competition. It ranks No. 292 in KenPom.com rankings and entered the game with a 103.1 offensive rating, which is based on the number of points scored per 100 possessions.
N.C. State’s defense didn’t impress much in the second half, either, as it gave up 41 points.
Stewart and Mincy finished with 20 and 28 points, respectively. Both added four assists.
On paper, the Wolfpack is the better team. It’s lucky the Blue Hose only had two players who could consistently shoot the ball. Otherwise, it could’ve been in a heap of trouble.
The departure of DJ Burns and his smooth operator scoring left a significant hole in the Wolfpack’s frontcourt. New bigs Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Dontrez Styles, though different from their predecessors, made an impact for N.C. State’s offense on Friday.
Huntley-Hatfield started the game 3 of 3 from the field, while Styles started the game with a corner 3 on the first possession. On one play, Huntley-Hatfield helped facilitate a shot for guard Marcus Hill in the lane and earned an assist.
Overall, the duo shot consistently, finishing 9 of 15 from the field for a combined 20 points and 13 rebounds.
N.C. State’s effort off the glass, notably in the second half, showed room for improvement. The Wolfpack finished the game tied with the Blue Hose, pulling down 29 rebounds.
It out-rebounded the visitors, 20-16, in the first period, Styles leading the team with six.
The Pack looked, at times, lackadaisical in its efforts to muscle way through traffic for the ball, contrary to its efforts nearly everywhere else.
Of the Blue Hose’s rebounds, 11 came on the offensive glass. It turned those opportunities into 15 second chance points.
N.C. State could afford to give up a few boards against Presbyterian, but this could’ve been an opportunity for the Pack to assert its dominance.
