North Carolina State has proved that its reserves are capable of making major contributions.
The Wolfpack hope to show off their depth on Friday night when they meet Troy in non-conference action in Raleigh, N.C.
NC State (3-0) has three double-digit wins this season, most recently 94-60 over Presbyterian on Tuesday. Starting forward Ven-Allen Lubin led the Wolfpack with 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but it’s the second unit that continues to draw praise from coach Justin Gainey.
Christian Hammond scored 13 points off the bench, knocking down three 3-pointers while contributing four steals. Zymicah Wilkins added 13 points and seven rebounds as part of a 41-point effort by the Wolfpack reserves.
“Their impact when they come in is tremendous,” Gainey said. “There’s a comfort level as a coach, when they come in, there’s no drop off. Our bench is going to be key. Our depth is going to be key.”
As for Wilkins in particular, Gainey was pleased to see a strong performance after the sophomore totaled only four points in the first two games.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface of who he can be,” Gainey said.
Troy (1-2) notched its first victory Tuesday after rallying from a 15-point deficit in the second half for a 74-69 overtime win over Loyola Marymount. The Trojans also received a large boost from their bench in that one, as Caua Pacheco supplied 17 points and Sam Walters had 11.
Jacoi Hutchinson and Donovan Oday headlined the starters’ efforts with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
“Really tough, gritty win for our group,” Troy coach Adam Howard said. “One we’ve been trying to get for a few weeks; didn’t feel like it was ever going to get there. But that’s just who we’ve been in practice, so we knew the way these guys work and how they compete every day, eventually we were going to get on the right side of it.”
Howard was an assistant coach at NC State last season.
