Instant observations: No. 16 NC State rolls past Coastal Carolina in bounce-back effort

After playing fairly flat in its 10-point loss to then-No. 16 TCU on Sunday afternoon, NC State coach Wes Moore wanted his team to bring more energy to the court. He pleaded for it in his postgame press conference, but wasn’t entirely sure if the top-20 loss would bring it out of his team.  “It would [for] me, but heck we got beat last Sunday, too,” Moore said postgame. “How many [losses] is it going to take? Our players talk all the time about being dogs, well what kind of dog are we? Are we a Chihuahua or are we a Doberman? Now is when you’ve got to come out fighting.” Well, his team answered his concern in its next time out as the 16th-ranked NC State cruised past Coastal Carolina 71-58 on Wednesday night at Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack played with a different sense of urgency, especially in the first half, which seemed to ignite the team as it raced out to an early 23-point lead that it was able to utilize the rest of the way as the Chanticleers outscored it 45-37 in the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Zoe Brooks led the Pack with 13 points and eight assists, while sophomore guard Zam Jones added 13 and eight assists and junior forward Maddie Cox chipped in with 11 points.  In all, NC State shot 45.2 percent from the field, including a 9-of-29 mark from 3-point distance. Coastal Carolina, meanwhile, posted a 34.3 percent clip with a 6-of-29 showing from beyond the arc.  Here are TheWolfpacker.com’s observations from the victory.