NC State basketball was expecting a tight contest from Furman. So were oddsmakers, who had the Pack a 6.5-point favorite. College basketball reporters circled the contest as a game to watch Tuesday night.



Turned out, NC State had no problems dispatching the preseason Southern Conference favorite, rolling to a 92-73 lead after leading by as much as 30 points in the second half.



“Good basketball team that we beat tonight,” NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts noted. “… When we scheduled the game, it’s nerve-wracking to schedule a team like Furman.”



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Five players scored in double figures, but standing out may have been an unlikely contributor off the bench — NC State freshman guard <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/liron-thomas-79562/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LJ Thomas</a>. He had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including making both of his three-pointers. However, his defense may have stood out most. Thomas had 4 steals and 5 rebounds. Overall, Thomas led a defensive intensity that had 17 steals against Furman.



“I’ve been searching to develop our bench … I’m not in a situation where I want to play <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/terquavion-smith-111282/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terquavion [Smith]</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jarkel-joiner-142415/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jarkel [Joiner]</a> 38 to 40 minutes a game,” Keatts noted. “I want to get the seom breaks. I think it’s better for them down the stretch.



“I’m looking for LJ and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/breon-pass-14039/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Breon Pass</a> to take a big step forward. … I thought LJ was really good. He played with poise.”



So impressive was Thomas that after the game he was instructed doused in water by his teammates.



Smith led the way with a game-high 24 points an also added 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Senior guard <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/casey-morsell-19085/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Casey Morsell</a> started hot with a couple of early three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Fifth-year senior forward <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jack-clark-50997/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jack Clark</a> poured in 15 points, showing signs of breaking out of a shooting slump by making 2 of 5 three-pointers.



NC State left little doubt in this one, jumping out to a 21-10 lead less than 8 minutes into the game, leading to an early Furman timeout. The advantage stretched to 26-10 before the Paladins made their one effort, an 11-0 spurt the briefly made the game competitive with 8 minutes left.



A Clark three-pointer however ended that Furman run, and NC State would reassert control to end the half, taking a 48-29 lead at the break.



A 12-4 run to start the second half for the Wolfpack led to another Furman timeout with 17:15 remaining, and the lone question at that point was what would the margin be.



With the victory, the Wolfpack improved to 9-3 on the season. NC State travels to Chicago on Saturday for a scheduled 10:30 p.m. tipoff against Vanderbilt. The game can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.



Furman falls to 7-4.

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