Terquavion Smith scored 26 points and Jarkel Joiner added 18 points as NC State cruised to a 99-50 season-opening victory over visiting Austin Peay on Monday in Raleigh, N.C.
Smith, who withdrew from the NBA draft to return to the Wolfpack last spring, shot 9 for 15 from the field and made 3 of his 7 attempts from beyond the arc. He also contributed five assists and three rebounds.
Joiner, who transferred from Ole Miss, shot 7 for 10 from the field and 1 for 4 from beyond the arc, in addition posting a game-high eight assists and four rebounds. Jack Clark had 15 points and seven rebounds, D.J. Burns Jr. added 10 points and nine rebounds and Casey Morsell finished with 10 points to round out a balanced Wolfpack offense.
Austin Peay was led by Shon Robinson’s 13 points and five rebounds, while Carlos Paez had nine points and Elijah Hutchins-Everett added eight points and four rebounds.
Leading 49-21 at halftime, the Wolfpack opened the second half on an 11-5 run to take a 60-26 lead on Smith’s layup with 17:10 left in the game.
NC State didn’t stop there. The Wolfpack stretched their lead to 50 points when Ernest Ross dunked off a pass from Morsell with a little more than seven minutes left.
NC State shot 40 for 66 (60.6 percent) from the field, including 11 for 28 (39.3 percent) from 3-point range, in addition to outrebounding the Governors 38-26 and forcing 20 turnovers it converted into 26 points.
Austin Peay shot 16 for 52 (30.8 percent) from the field, including just 1 for 8 from beyond the arc. The Governors were outscored 50-26 in the paint and were outscored 24-2 on the fast break.
The Wolfpack took a 26-6 lead following Burns’ jumper with 10:52 left in the first half before stretching its lead to 49-21 at halftime.
Joiner had 12 points and six assists, while Smith added 12 points and two assists, as four players scored at least eight points in the first 20 minutes for the Wolfpack.
–Field Level Media