Wolfpack Emerges Victorious in its Final Exhibition Game

Everyone knows that a nice, dominant basketball game is the perfect remedy for the various maladies that accompany a rough day for NC State Football fans.  That's what the doctor prescribed and delivered tonight as the Wolfpack went up against Queens University of Charlotte.

Exhibition games are never supposed to be close, but this game only really adhered to that statement after the first half was said and done.  Up to halftime, this game was much closer than anticipated for much longer than it should have been.

In the first half, this game was back-and-forth, which can be expected.  This is an exhibition game against Queens, so naturally NC State wasn't going to play as hard as they would against say, a conference opponent.  Nevertheless, NC State regrouped as expected and managed to dominate the second half, holding Queens to only 19 points in that frame.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night for NC State was the slow start for Trevor Lacey, who was 0/7 to start the game.  While he eventually managed to somewhat find his rhythm and finish with a decent 7 points, he did prove to have a quality floor presence, acquiring 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds.  Lacey took it in stride, however, providing some great post-game comments.

Trevor Lacey, who missed his first seven shots, relates to the common man: The struggling reporter: pic.twitter.com/jHdcS4mQiF

— Bret Strelow (@bretstrelow) November 9, 2014

The Wolfpack's star of the night was easily Caleb Martin, who managed to notch 16 points while nabbing four rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.  And it goes without saying that going 4/6 from beyond the arc certainly left Wolfpack fans satisfied.  Collectively, NC State completely trounced Queens defensively, forcing 30 turnovers and holding them to 36% shooting.  They allowed too high of a percentage of three point makes, but that can be forgiven at this juncture.

Martin's performance in this game was very impressive.  The freshman was a four star recruit last year and was brought in as part of a series of impressive class of 2014 commitments by Mark Gottfried and his staff.  It was a welcome sight to see him perform so well so early on.  The same can also be said for freshman Abdul-Malik Abu, another fantastic recruiting get for the Wolfpack.  Abu had 14 points and five rebounds, proving that the freshmen--while they may not get a large amount of playing time--will add some impressive depth to this team.

Now, with that out of the way, the Wolfpack can set their sights on November 14th--the day their season begins against Jackson State.  That game will take place at PNC and oh my God it feels like an eternity away.  I just wish I could winnow through the remaining days until then.

Stats below are a bit aslant, but they get the job done.

Final stats from exhibition win over Queens pic.twitter.com/jUg901J75f

— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) November 8, 2014