NC State defeats Charleston Southern in Season Opener 95-61

Courtesty of GoPack.com

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men’s basketball team opened the season with a 95-61 win over Charleston Southern Wednesday evening at the Mako Medical Wolfpack Intercollegiate held at historic Reynolds Coliseum.

Senior Devon Daniels was terrific in his 2020-21 debut as he poured in a career-best 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. The Battle Creek, Mich., native added a team-best 10 rebounds to post his fifth career double-double.

The senior class all scored in double figures as Braxton Beverly scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and D.J. Funderburk added 10 points.

The Pack jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but could never pull away from the Buccaneers in the opening 15 minutes. Charleston Southern trailed just 32-29 with five minutes to play in the half, before NC State finally broke the game open with an 11-0 spurt to take a 43-29 lead late in the half.

The Pack’s senior class combined to score 31 of NC State’s 43 first half points.

After Charleston Southern pulled within nine points, 45-36, with 18:36 to play, the Pack responded with a 19-0 run over the next seven minutes to take a 64-36 lead on a Dereon Seabron breakaway dunk.

The Buccaneers never got closer than 26 points the rest of the way.

NC State ended up forcing 32 Charleston Southern turnovers. The second-most of the Kevin Keatts era.

The Pack’s 18 steals were the most of the Kevin Keatts era and were just two off the school record.

With the win, NC State improves to 39-1 in season-openers at Reynolds Coliseum.

Making Their Debut
Six players made their NC State debut on Wednesday night. Junior guard and Raleigh native Thomas Allen started and scored five points and recorded two steals in 17 minutes of action.

Five freshmen saw their NC State and collegiate debuts off-the-bench. Cam Hayes tied for team-high honors with four assists and four steals. Shakeel More led all bench scorers with nine points and tied Hayes with four steals. Dereon Seabron added seven points and two assists. Ebenezer Dowuona and Jaylon Gibson both chipped in two points.

Next Up
The Pack returns to Reynolds Coliseum on Friday to face North Florida in the conclusion of the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 and will be televised on RSN.