NC State basketball speeds past FIU, 107-74

On3 imageby:Matt Carter11/15/22

TheWolfpacker

Before the game, NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts told the Wolfpack radio crew not to be surprised if the game against Florida International on Tuesday evening at PNC Arena in Raleigh was something like a 120-110 shootout. Then the opening minutes of the game left Keatts wondering if he had read the matchup completely wrong.

“It was like really slow,” Keatts reflected about the start of the contest. “It was a lot of fouls, and I was like, ‘I lied to everybody.’”

Subscribe to The Wolfpacker today with our limited-time offer for potential new subscribers: $10 deal for premium access until 8/31/23

Ultimately, however, the coach proved prophetic, as a frenetically paced shootout unfolded with NC State easily prevailing 107-74 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Wolfpack attempted 76 shots in the contest and made 39 (51.3 percent).

“We like to play fast,” Keatts said. “I thought we did a good job of getting out in transition. We forced a lot of turnovers and got a lot of steals.

“That’s the way we want to play.”

NC State had 17 steals, while FIU had 22 turnovers. That led to the Wolfpack owning a 34-16 advantage in fast break points.

Keatts added that the game felt much more like the 49-point season-opening win over Austin Peay rather than the close, 6-point affair against Campbell last week. One of the big reasons for that was the stellar shooting from super senior guard Jarkel Joiner and senior guard Casey Morsell.

The former was hot first and finished with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6 of 8 on three-pointers.

“[Joiner’s] huge,” Keatts noted. “Let’s not shy away from it. It’s great to have a veteran point guard. …. He’s good for our team.”

Morsell then caught fire after Joiner and would set a new career high with his 26 points, as he made 10 of 13 shots overall and 6 of 7 three-pointers.

“I was so proud of Casey Morsell,” Keatts added.

The two helped NC State survive an off shooting performance from sophomore guard Terquavion Smith, who connected on just 1 of 8 threes and 6 of 15 shots overall for 15 points. Keatts noted, however, that Smith also had 6 assists and 6 steals to find other ways to influence the contest.

NC State broke the game open with a 19-2 run in the first half to take a 27-8 lead. The Pack led by 25 at the break, 57-32, and stretched that advantage to as many as 39 points at 105-66.

Florida International fell to 2-1 with the loss.

Next up for NC State basketball is a home contest Saturday afternoon against Elon. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the contest can be seen online with ACC Network Extra. That will be the last game at PNC Arena before NC State travels to the Bahamas for a crucial early-season tournament, starting with a showdown against Kansas on Thanksgiving-eve.

You may also like