NC State basketball’s ‘togetherness’ tested by tough week. The Wolfpack responded well

N.C. State sophomore Terquavion Smith’s answer came as quickly as one of his shots, with no hesitation.

Asked Saturday what word would best describe this season’s Wolfpack team and the identity it has formed, he said, “Togetherness.”

An interesting response.

Many athletes might have harped about toughness and resiliency — and Smith’s answer came shortly after the Pack had displayed both in a 73-69 road win at Virginia Tech.

The truth is, the Wolfpack’s togetherness might have been what it needed most against the Hokies, who had lost three straight and were determined a fourth loss would not come against N.C. State at Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies played from behind the whole game, but when they finally made a move, in the final minutes, it was as if the ground shook and the Pack might not withstand it. An 11-point Wolfpack lead with a little more than a minute left in regulation was rapidly sliced to two, but the Wolfpack made enough free throws to escape.

Smith went to the line with six seconds left, the Pack leading 71-69. With Cassell at full throat, Smith knocked down both foul shots. That was that, and N.C. State had its first ACC road win of the season.

Moments later, Smith, who had a game-high 22 points, was talking about togetherness.

“We fight,” he said. “We fight with each other and we fight for each other. Regardless, I feel like we’re a together bunch and we will always fight for each other, on and off the court.”

It’s also a competitive bunch. Imagine Smith and Jarkel Joiner guarding each other in team practices. Or the heavyweight battles between DJ Burns and Dusan Mahorcic before Mahorcic’s knee injury.

And this is a team assembled by NCSU coach Kevin Keatts, who made good use of the NCAA transfer portal, but also has molded this team. Keatts has often mentioned the importance of the Pack’s preseason trip to the Bahamas for exhibition games, of how the players and coaches got a better feel for each other, and that has played out.

The Wolfpack went into the past week 1-3 in the ACC, set to face Duke at home and then Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. It responded by thumping Duke 84-60 — a score and result heard ‘round the ACC — and then fighting past the Hokies at Cassell.

As Smith put it, “When adversity comes you have to hit back, not fall over.”

The Wolfpack was 37th in the NCAA NET rankings before the Virginia Tech game, getting a big bounce from the Duke win. The Pack (13-4) moved to 28th after Saturday’s road win, one spot below North Carolina.

The Wolfpack now has a week-long break, not playing again until Saturday when it hosts the Miami Hurricanes at PNC Arena in a noon game.

No complaints from the Pack’s Casey Morsell, the senior guard who had 15 points Saturday.

“We play fast. We press the entire game, all 40 minutes,” Morsell said. “This gives us a chance to get our bodies right and get ready for the next game. We’ll definitely benefit from it.”

With his team on a heater, Keatts joked he might try to quickly schedule a Wednesday game, saying, “When you’re playing well you want to play,”

But the extra time, Keatts conceded, comes at a good time for the Pack.

“Our guys are tired,” he said “This stretch has been really tough on us. To come on the road, knowing you’ve got seven days in-between, it feels good to get a win rather than sit on a loss for seven days.

“I’m proud of our guys and we want to keep building on it.”