NC State basketball puts scare into No. 3 Kansas, but Jayhawks finish off 80-74 win

N.C. State took a big step up in competition Wednesday, and that step proved to be a little too high for the Wolfpack.

The Pack hustled for 40 minutes and had some good moments against No. 3 Kansas in its opening game in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas before the Jayhawks secured an 80-74 victory.

“What a game,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “It felt like a late-January or February ACC matchup. Give Kansas credit. I thought they made plays down the stretch when they had to have it.

“I’m proud of our guys, how hard they played. Unfortunately we came up a little short of winning the game, but a lot to build on.”

The Wolfpack (4-1) will face Dayton in its second game Thursday before finishing up its three games Friday at Paradise Island.

The Pack had its problems trying to slow down Gradey Dick, a slender 6-8 freshman with a sweet shooting touch. Dick did miss a few second-half shots but finished with 25 points.

“I think his legs left him a little bit,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “But he’s a terrific shooter.”

The Jayhawks (5-0) had balanced scoring as junior forward Jalen Wilson had 19 points and Dujuan Harris 14. Wilson, who had averaged 24.5 points in the first four games, also had 11 rebounds Wednesday,

The Wolfpack got 21 points from Casey Morsell, 19 from Terquavion Smith and 17 from Jarkel Joiner, and kept attacking. After the Pack settled for too many outside shots in the opening half — not all of them good shots — Smith and Joiner looked to slash through the lane more in the second half.

“I told our guys that’s the quickest team we’ll play on the perimeter,” said Self, back on the bench after being suspended the first four games. “Joiner is as legitimate a lead guard as anywhere in the country and Smith as legitimate a scoring guard. (Morsell) is good. Their speed concerned me the most.”

The Pack, which trailed 39-31 at the half, shot 39 percent from the field in the game, going 8-of-22 on 3-pointers while the Jayhawks nailed 10 of 21 from the 3-point line — Dick hit six of 12.

With the Jayhawks leading 72-68, the Pack’s D.J. Burns missed two free throws with 3:11 left. Dick scored on a reverse layup and after Burns missed another shot, Kansas followed with two free throws from Wilson. It was an eight-point spread, the game decided.

It isn’t the same Kansas team that won the NCAA championship last season, beating North Carolina in the title game, but it’s a team that can contend for another one and has beaten Duke this season.

The Pack won its first four games, two in blowouts and two in close finishes. But those were against Austin Peay, Campbell, Florida International and Elon. This was Kansas.

“We’re going to build from this,” Keatts said. “It’s tough. Even though you play a good game it’s your first loss. So any time you have your first loss it’s something to deal with and we’ve got to shake it off and in 24 hours play another good team.”

The Pack trailed 39-31 at the half but an offensive burst from Morsell — two 3’s and eight straight points — pulled N.C. State into a 39-39 tie.

“Then it was a fight,” Keatts said. “It was a fight back and forth.”

Keatts was called for a technical foul after the Jayhawks’ Kevin McCullar tip-toed the sideline to save the ball and passed to Ernest Udeh for a layup. Keatts protested — too much. Dick hit both technical free throws and the Jayhawks had a 53-47 lead with 13:33 left in regulation and pushed it out to nine points.

“We stayed together as a team,” Smith said. “When we back from those deficits, it was all about being together and lifting each other up.”

The game was tied 63-63 with seven minutes left before a Wilson layup gave the Jayhawks the lead for keeps.

The Pack tried different players defensively on Dick in the opening half and he did have one shot blocked, but hit six times from behind the arc.

“He’s very talented and he has great size,” Keatts said.

Smith, on the other hand, struggled in the first half. He missed five of his seven 3’s although he did manage to score 10 points in the period.