NC State
1-1,0-1ACC
Detroit Mercy
0-1,0-0Horizon
Beverly's Sharpshooting Performance Leads NC State Past Detroit Mercy
11/10/2019 5:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. — The NC State men's basketball team (1-1, 0-1) earned its first win of the 2019-20 season Sunday evening as it defeated Detroit Mercy (0-1), 84-65, inside PNC Arena.
Braxton Beverly led the Pack with a career-high 23 points. The junior guard took advantage of the Titans' zone, knocking down 6-of-9 three-pointers to also set a career high in three pointers made in a single game. He also dished out three assists on the night.
C.J. Bryce and Devon Daniels complemented Beverly's charge with 19 points and 14 points, respectively.
Markell Johnson made his season debut with an impressive 10 assists, leading the team in the category for the 50th game of his career while climbing the Pack's all-time assists leaderboard. He now sits at No. 8 in NC State history with 407 career assists. The senior also tied his career high of seven rebounds.
With seven blocks on the day, Manny Bates became the first Wolfpack player since 2014 (BeeJay Anya on 11/20/14 vs. Jacksonville and 11/23/14 vs. USF) to block at least five shots in back-to-back games. His performance protecting the rim also marked the most blocks by a single player in the Kevin Keatts era.
NC State got off to a hot start thanks to a 10-0 run two minutes into the contest to pull ahead 13-6. Beverly (6 points) and Bryce (5 points) contributed the Pack's first 11 points of the game. After assisting on 11 of its first 15 field goals, the squad made six of its last seven shots heading into the under-eight media timeout. The Pack extended its lead to 33-21 and rode out that double-digit advantage the remainder of the game.
Detroit Mercy was led by Antoine Davis with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists. He was the only Titan to find double digits in the scoring column.
Up next, NC State will play host to FIU on Wednesday, Nov. 13. That game is set for a 9 p.m. tip and will be broadcast on RSN.
