Sometimes, early-game performances can be misleading. Such was the case for NC State basketball Thursday afternoon after the Wolfpack fell behind 19-9 to Dayton at the under-12 media timeout with 11:33 left in the first half.



At that point in the game, NC State had shot just 4 of 12 from the field and had 4 turnovers. Dayton was 9-of-15 shooting and only had 1 giveaway.



Over the final 31-plus minutes, the Wolfpack defense was able to harass Dayton into 17 turnovers and the Flyers cooled off. Meanwhile, NC State warmed up to finish shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor, connecting on 28 of 57 shots.



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The result was a 76-64 victory for NC State over a preseason ranked top-25 team that is expected to be in the NCAA Tournament.



“You beat a team like Dayton by 12 points on a neutral court, that’s good basketball,” NC State basketball head coach Kevin Keatts stated.



The decisive stretch came early in the second half. With Dayton leading 39-38, NC State uncorked a 17-0 run to take a 55-39 advantage with 10:46 to go in the contest.



Both super senior guard <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jarkel-joiner-142415/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jarkel Joiner</a> and fifth-year senior post player <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/dj-burns-27521/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">D.J. Burns Jr.</a> credited an increased effort in the second half with sparking the Wolfpack.



“Coach told us to go out there and play harder than them, and I feel like that’s what we did,” Burns noted.



“I thought our energy was great,” Keatts added.



Keatts added that, in a weird fashion, Joiner picking up two first half fouls and sitting on the bench for an extended period rested him for a strong second half. Joiner would explode after halftime for 20 points to finish with a game-high 27.



Joiner was one of four players for NC State to finish in double figures in scoring. Sophomore guard <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/terquavion-smith-111282/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terquavion Smith</a> added 11 along with a team-high 6 assists but also turned it over eight times.



Fifth-year senior forward <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jack-clark-50997/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jack Clark</a> and Burns each added 10 points. Clark nearly had a double-double with 9 boards.



The victory improved the Wolfpack to 5-1, and erased concerns by Keatts of how the team would rebound from <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/nc-state-wolfpack/news/nc-state-basketball-kansas-bahamas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a hard-fought loss to defending national champion Kansas</a> on Wednesday afternoon.



“Very good win for us. We want to continue to build on it, and excited about our opportunity tomorrow,” Keatts noted.



The Wolfpack could face an intriguing matchup Friday evening in what will be a late-night tip-off at approximately 10 p.m., on ESPN2. 



NC State will play the winner of BYU-Butler in the fifth-place game at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas. Starring for Butler is former Pack center <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/manny-bates-82167/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manny Bates</a>, who transferred out of the NC State basketball program following last season.



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NC State basketball nets impressive win over Dayton, 76-64

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