NC State men’s basketball fell 95-86 to the BYU Cougars in the final round of the Vegas Showdown.
Despite a career performance from graduate guard Casey Morsell, some well-timed 3-pointers by BYU (6-0) took the steam out of the Pack’s (4-1) offense.
This outing is the Wolfpack’s first loss of the 2023-2024 season. The schedule hasn’t ramped up yet, but this loss could mark the start of a rocky patch for this squad. NC State hasn’t put up over 90 points in a game yet this year and the Cougars took advantage of that by pulling ahead in scoring.
The Pack started off in a bit of a rough patch with fouls. Once NC State started moving, it took off against BYU, maintaining a solid lead through the first 10 minutes of the game. Graduate guard DJ Horne took off and made his presence known early, shooting 4-7 from behind the arc for 14 total points.
Morsell alone scored 28 points, a career-high. He shot 10-17 from the field and also had one assist. Graduate forward DJ Burns put up seven rebounds and four assists to lead the team and recorded 16 points as well. Junior guard Jayden Taylor was the other standout player for the Pack. Taylor put up 17 points and six rebounds.
NC State lost its lead with eight minutes left and seemingly, the momentum it brought into the game. It certainly did not help that BYU came out after halftime ready to put the ball through the net. The Cougars shot 70% in the second half, despite only shooting for 43.3% in the first half. BYU made nine of its 15 3-point attempts in the second.
The Pack chugged along, putting up about the same offensively in the first as it did in the second, with 43 points scored in both halves and 32 shot attempts made in both halves. NC State struggled to keep up with BYU’s turnovers, where the red-and-white only had nine to the Cougars’ 17. The two teams put up comparable 3-point performances and the Pack was more successful from the line than BYU throughout the night.
Taylor struggled towards the end of the game, earning himself two technical fouls that ended with him getting ejected for the night. Head coach Kevin Keatts got into it as well with the refs, getting himself ejected from the court.
The consistent performance throughout the night shows that this team is prepared to play a full 40 minutes of basketball, but the squad will need to do more than be consistent as it gets closer to its ACC schedule. Only four players put up over 10 points tonight and NC State will need more than its starters to do that to carry it through to success this year.
The Wolfpack only gets a few days of recovery before it travels to Ole Miss for the ACC/SEC Challenge. NC State will play again on Tuesday, November 28 at 9 p.m. at Ole Miss.