The NC State men's basketball had no trouble in its lone exhibition tune-up of the 2022-23 season as the Pack beat Lees-McRae, 107-59, on Wednesday night inside PNC Arena. The Pack jumped out to an 11-0 lead and extended it to 27-2 in the opening 10 minutes. Lees-McRae did not make its first field goal until a basket with 8:53 left in the first half. NC State shot 50 percent in the first half on its way to a 55-21 lead at the break. It was more of the same in the second half as the Pack shot over 50 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes to close out the game. Terquavion Smith led all players in points (18), assists (7) and steals (4) despite the Preseason All-ACC First-Team selection playing just 25 minutes. Casey Morsell and Ernest Ross each added 13 points while Jarkel Joiner added 11 points and Jack Clark and Breon Pass both had 10. Clark finished just shy of a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Ross grabbed seven rebounds, five on the offensive end. NC State shot 50.6 percent from the field for the game and had 22 assists which were more assists than in any game last season. The Pack added 14 steals and forced 21 Lees-McRae turnovers. All 15 NC State players saw action on Wednesday night with 14 reaching the scoring column. The Bobcats were led by Nico Ashley with 13 points and Justin Nicholson who chipped in 12. NC State opens the regular season Monday night when it hosts Austin Peay at PNC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
https://gopack.com/news/2022/11/2/mens-basketball-pack-cruises-past-lees-mcrae-107-59-in-exhibition-contest.aspx