NC State basketball stays perfect. Three takeaways from the Wolfpack’s 87-53 win

N.C. State forward DJ Burns grinned after his spin move and not-so-little one-handed dunk after yet another rebound appeared to punctuate another early-season win for the Wolfpack.

It was fun, and may well be the group’s best overall performance, despite some early hiccups.

N.C. State defeated Charleston Southern, 87-53, on Friday night at PNC Arena, the Pack’s 10th straight win over the Buccaneers (2-2) and its best defensive performance of the young season.

The team forced 22 turnovers, picked up 11 steals and out-rebounded the visitors 36-29. That was on top of its best offensive output in the season.

The Wolfpack (3-0) remains perfect at home and the win provides momentum going into a four-game road stretch.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Sluggish start

The Wolfpack offense took nearly five and a half minutes to score 10 points. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. The team took 10 shots to that point, hitting iron on most of them.

This seems to be a common theme for N.C. State this season. In the first two regular-season games and in its exhibition, the Pack needed more than five minutes in all but one game to hit double figures.

Even after hitting the 10-point mark, it took several more minutes to get the offense going. The Buccaneers cut the N.C. State lead to one, twice.

The Wolfpack’s shooting finally settled in later in the first half, leading to a 19-0 run and a 20-point advantage.

N.C. State isn’t worried, but against ACC competition, this will be something the Pack needs to keep an eye on. It won’t want to rely on producing runs that long, or worry about working from behind.

“Everybody here knows what they can do with the ball. Coach (Kevin) Keatts knows that to, too,” junior Jayden Taylor said. “We don’t really worry about shots. We control we can control. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don’t, but defense we can control.”

Pack pushing the pace

There’s a reason teams focus so much on defense, and it’s all about tempo.

When N.C. State slowed the game down and truly controlled the tempo, its defensive effort turned into a rhythm on the other side of the ball.

During the Wolfpack’s 19-0 run, every scoring possession was preceded by either a defensive rebound or turnover. DJ Burns’ trip to the stripe came via rebound from DJ Horne and Charleston Southern personal foul.

Five baskets and the pair of free throws happened on the fast break, as well.

The same trend continued into the second half. When the Wolfpack can get opponents out of system through strong defense, it translates to points.

“I think being off for a little time threw our offense a little bit, but it helped our defense,” Keatts said. “It helped us. We had a little fresher legs on the defensive end.

“I thought our guys were very active. We spent a lot of time on Monday really getting better in our press. That was the advantage of having a few days off, and we worked out some stuff. We improved, and I thought it paid off for us.”

Dennis Parker breaks out

Head coach Kevin Keatts said in preseason interviews that he felt like Dennis Parker, a true freshman, didn’t play like a rookie.

Parker lived up to that billing in the Pack’s third game of the year, hitting double figures and padding the stat sheet.

He finished with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, four rebounds, an assist and four steals in 19 minutes. He did it without a turnover, too.

“This is my young buck right here. Seeing him succeed, it’s just like as a father,” Taylor said. “It’s like I see my son excel when I see him do good...it made me happy.”

Graduate students Burns, Horne and Casey Morsell led the charge overall, but Parker was one N.C. State’s big stars of the night. He credited the older players for his impressive showing, noting their positive impact on his young career.

“Those guys, they’re phenomenal leaders. I feel like people really don’t understand how good of a leader they are,” Parker said. “I feel like (those) guys, they’re just kind of like my big brothers.”

He might not be the guy in every contest, but it’s great to see him step into a larger role.