NC State basketball gets sluggish win over Elon, 74-63
NC State basketball was a heavy favorite Saturday over Elon, and for good reason. The Phoenix was 1-3 coming after losing at home to North Dakota earlier in the week. NC State was 3-0 with a pair of lopsided wins included.
Hence why the odds favored the Wolfpack by 25 points over Elon. The game ended up being far closer than the bookmakers or just about anyone else may have foreseen.
A pesky Elon team was down just 5 points at 56-51 when NC State called a timeout with 8:27 left. An authoritative run from the Wolfpack never materialized, but head coach Kevin Keatts’ squad made the plays to keep Elon at a comfortable distance the rest of the way in what was a 74-63 win in front of 11,351 fans at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
The clues that Saturday would be a sluggish game for NC State were apparent from the get-go. The Pack made just 2 of 10 shot attempts in the opening 4:10 and was trailing 7-5 when the teams headed to the benches for the first media timeout.
After NC State took a 27-15 lead, Elon responded with a 10-2 run to trim that advantage to four with 4:06 left.
The Pack would resume control before halftime and led 37-27 at the break, but putting away a resilient Elon squad proved to be a challenge. The NC State lead fluctuated between 8 to 13 points for the first 9 minutes of the second half.
Perhaps sensing an opening for an upset, four times Elon would cut the lead down to 5 points in the final 8:34 of the contest. Every time the Phoenix got within five, NC State would respond on the next possession with points.
NC State was led by fifth-year senior forward Jack Clark in the La Salle transfer’s best game yet in a Wolfpack uniform. He made 9 of 18 shots from the field, including 3 of 10 threes, for a game-high 21 points and nearly added a double-double with 9 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith added 16 points and tied with super senior guard Jarkel Joiner for a team-high 4 assists. Senior guard Casey Morsell scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3 of 6 on three-pointers. Like Clark, he nearly had a double-double with 8 rebounds.
Senior center Dusan Mahorcic also nearly contributed a double-double, finishing with 9 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Former Missouri wing Torrence Watson led Elon with 20 points, making 4 of 7 threes in the contest.
After four games at home to start the season, NC State basketball travels to the Bahamas for the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. The Pack will play three games over three days, starting with a noon tip Wednesday against defending national champion and No. 6 Kansas.
