Three takeaways from NC State Wolfpack men’s basketball exhibition win over Lees-McRae

N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts sat at the podium on Wednesday night, a big smile on his face, no concern about his team.

The Wolfpack narrowly escaped its exhibition against Lees-McRae, defeating the in-state Division II opponent, 79-75, at the Lenovo Center. It gave up 50 points in the second half, cutting into what was a 21-point lead, making things a lot closer than most would’ve liked.

Keatts, however, isn’t worried. He’s actually pretty happy.

“As crazy as it sounds, I would much rather have this game than have a 40 point win, because I don’t get a chance to see guys be able to react and who’s gonna make free throws and who’s gonna be good at the end,” Keatts said. “I didn’t call one time out until the end. I just wanted the guys to play through some different stuff. I could have stopped a couple runs, but I wanted our guys to figure it out, and then we would get better for it.”

Eleven scholarship players participated in the exhibition, which was the highest number of players it’s had in recent weeks due to injuries. It still did not have Dennis Parker Jr. or Mike James due to injury. James has a minor knee injury but will likely miss two or three weeks. Parker Jr. rolled an ankle, recovered, and rolled the other. His timetable is unclear.

Keatts said there were several combinations he used that he hadn’t even used in practice. He just wanted to give guys a chance to compete together and learn what works — and what doesn’t.

“I know people will look at it differently,” he said. “With me, I’m trying to get through the game with nobody getting hurt, and throw a bunch of guys out there to get a little chance to play in front of a smaller crowd.”

Jayden Taylor led the team with 12 points, seven coming at the free throw line, adding eight rebounds and five assists. Dontrez Styles led the team with nine boards.

Keatts also reminded his team that last year’s squad only beat Mount Olive by 10 points in that exhibition but will raise ACC championship and NCAA Final Four banners on Monday.

“I’m excited about it,” Keatts said. “I think we’ve got a lot to look forward to and a lot to build on.”

Here are three takeaways from the Pack’s first win — at least unofficially — in 2024-25.

Wolfpack doesn’t win without the bench

The Wolfpack’s scoring didn’t impress in the team’s first outing, as it struggled to find the bucket consistently.

N.C. State can credit its bench players for buoying the offense in its exhibition, because the starters struggled to get it done. The starting five — Michael O’Connell, Jayden Taylor, Marcus Hill, Dontrez Styles and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield — finished a combined 10 of 34 from the field. Midway through the second half, the starters had made a combined 6 of 26 shots from the field.

Huntley-Hatfield started slow, going 1 of 4 in the first half. He ended the game 4 of 8, for the highest individual shooting efficiency.

Meanwhile, the bench contributed 37 points, led by guard Breon Pass with nine.

“We’ve got guys all over that can play, so it’s gonna be a good year,” Taylor said. “I think everybody’s gonna find their role in their niche on this team. It’s just gonna take time.”

Trey Parker added seven points in the win, scoring two field goals. The 6-foot-1 guard is known for his dunking abilities, but fans probably won’t see that very much this season. His vertical, however, will help him score over taller opponents, something he did twice against the Bobcats.

Pack makes sloppy mistakes

N.C. State led Lees-McRae by as many as 21 points in the first half and looked like it would cruise to a comfortable win. A combination of 19 turnovers and bad decisions made the team’s exhibition close instead.

Officials called Pass for a double dribble late in the second half, giving the Bobcats possession and a chance to tie the game.

With 19 seconds remaining, Parker grabbed an offensive board. He opted to lob the ball down court but turned it over.

Taylor had a chance to score an open 3 but opted to drive inside through traffic — he missed. He made a similar decision in the first half, except he opted to attempt a contested layup rather than pass to an open Heard on the corner. The ball was pushed out of bounds by Lees-McRae.

A number of other turnovers were simply due to poor ball handling. Middlebrooks and Ismael Diouf combined for seven lost balls.

“I think we were letting the other team speed us up,” O’Connell said. “We definitely don’t play like that every day in practice, and we have pretty good pressure...We’ve just got to get back to controlling what we can control.”

Lees-McRae deserves credit for its aggressive and fearless performance, but the Wolfpack could’ve played a cleaner game — and it’ll have to going forward.

“Never take an opponent for granted,” Pass said. “We didn’t play to the best our abilities, but we call it a bad practice. Looking forward to Monday and coming out and putting the show.”

Rookie Bryce Heard makes impact

One day after Zamareya Jones led the Wolfpack women’s basketball team in its exhibition, freshman Bryce Heard started his N.C. State career with an impressive showing. Heard finished with seven points on 3 of 3 shooting, a trio of in 12 minutes played.

Heard wasn’t afraid to get involved on defense, attempting to poke the ball away on an in-bounds play.

When Ben Middlebrooks missed a layup, Heard pulled down the contested offensive rebound and scored the put-back.

“It was good to come out there and be on the court,” Heard said. “It was a good experience to learn how the flow of the game goes in a real live event.”

Heard, 17, reclassified this season to begin his college career sooner than expected. In his first outing, he played with the poise and confidence of a junior or senior.

He may not play the most minutes this season, but the youngster proved he will be a valuable asset to the program in whatever time he gets.

“Those guys come in every day, work hard,” Taylor said. “I love Bryce. Bryce, Trey and Paul (McNeil). They all come in and work hard, and they just wanted to learn. They’ve been sponges. It’s good to see them have success.”