NC State dominates FIU to improve to 3-0

Raleigh, NC – NC State men’s basketball team (3-0) closed out a home victory against the Florida International Panthers (2-1), beating them 107-74 at PNC Arena on Tuesday night.

Before this game, the Wolfpack played in a tight match against Campbell which prepared them to face the Panthers. The team also entered with a field goal percentage of 56.1%, the second highest in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and they have had double-digit steals in each of their three games thus far. 

 When key player Terquvion Smith wasn’t completing his shots, Casey Morsel and Jarkel Joiner were able to step up when it was really needed. Joyner and Morsel combined for 19-28 shots in which Morsel was able to achieve a career-high.

In the first half, when Smith also earned a technical foul, he missed five of his seven attempts and went 0-4 from three-point range. Early in the second half, he finally made a 3-pointer that missed, and he completed the game with 15 points (1-for-8 on 3-pointers) and a team-high six steals. 

The Wolfpack led 57-32 at the half after going on a 12-0 run that helped them gain a 27-8 advantage midway through the opening round. Both Joiner and Morsel finished the first half with three-pointers to round off the scoring with 21 and 14 points, respectively. The half was filled with strong on-ball defense and shooting for the Wolfpack which continued throughout the second half. 

 NC State was able to play more of their players as they built a lead going into halftime. LJ Thomas, who had 12 points and 12 minutes, and Ernest Ross, who made a nice block leading to a fast break 3-point play, were able to showcase their talents more this game. This shows other opponents that they can turn to their bench and not just depend solely on their key players.

 What led to FIU’s downfall was their turnovers. The Panthers ended the game with 22 turnovers in total. NC State was able to achieve 20 fast break layups off of 13 out of the 22 turnovers for the panthers. Sophomore Denver Jones led his team with 19 points of which 16 came from the first half alone.

Despite scoring 46 points within the paint, FIU struggled from beyond the arc as well, making only 5-of-18 shots (27.8%) on the night. Additionally, NC State had a 40-29 plus-11 rebounding advantage in the end. 

Join the Wolfpack and see if they can continue their run of wins as they face Elon on November 19 at 1 p.m. back at the PNC Arena.