NC State’s final tune-up before the real games arrived with no shortage of offense, no shortage of rotation pieces and no shortage of points. In its lone exhibition at Lenovo Center, the Wolfpack rolled past Lenoir-Rhyne 128-64 and used the night to show off the kind of balance Justin Gainey has been preaching all offseason.
The box score was loud from the start. NC State put up 69 first-half points and handed out 16 assists before leaning on reserves for much of the second half. By the finish, the Wolfpack had piled up 130 points, and the ball had clearly been moving.
Ven-Allen Lubin led the way with 22 points, doing most of his damage efficiently and relentlessly. He went 5-for-5 from the field, hit 12 of 13 free throws, and added nine rebounds and four blocks.
Paul McNeil was right there with him, finishing with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from 3-point range, along with six rebounds, three assists and two stocks. Robert Jurković added 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night, Zymicah Wilkins scored 12, and Kingston Whitty also reached double figures.
The passing was just as eye-catching as the scoring. Darius Adams and Preston Edmead combined for 17 of NC State’s 29 assists, setting the tone for an attack that looked connected and comfortable.
The frontcourt, which drew questions after the win over Mississippi State in Greensboro, also took a step forward. Lubin did what Lubin does, but the bigger story was the play of the true centers.
Kyle Evans finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and committed just one foul in 17 minutes. He also flashed some vision, including a swing pass to Eemeli Yalaho for an easy basket.
Jurković looked more settled inside, pairing his 14 points with five made free throws and three blocks. Wilkins kept supplying quick-hit production off the bench, posting 14 points, four rebounds and a steal in just 11 minutes.
There’s only so much to read into an exhibition against Lenoir-Rhyne, and NC State knows that. Still, the game served its purpose. The Wolfpack got production from deep into the roster, McNeil showed life after some shooting struggles in the first public exhibition, and Evans gave himself a confidence boost inside Lenovo Center.
Now the attention shifts to Nov. 2, when NC State hosts Campbel and the numbers start counting for real.
In Other News...
NC State Finally Made The Dave Doeren Decision Fans Feared
A rough start to the 2026 season finally caught up to Dave Doeren, as NC State moved on from the longtime coach after the Wolfpack fell to 3-4 with a loss to Stanford. Doeren had spent 14 seasons in Raleigh and was the longest-tenured coach in modern NC State football history, building a 98-74 record while overseeing one of the program's steadiest stretches.
The timing only sharpened the sense that the decision had been building for a while, especially after a loss to a Stanford team that had struggled in its own right. Even with Doeren under contract through 2029, the Wolfpack chose to make a change now, leaving the program to sort out what comes next after a disappointing opening half to the year. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Let A Winnable Stanford Trip Slip Away On Defense
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Stanford finished with nearly 500 yards and four touchdown passes, a pace NC State never really managed to slow down once the game got into the middle stages. The defeat evened the all-time series at 1-1 and sent the Wolfpack home with a result that will linger, though there is little time to dwell on it with California next on the schedule in Raleigh. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Just Showed The Kind Of Offense Fans Will Notice
For a fan base still looking to see what this offense can become, NC State offered a loud early answer in an exhibition win over Lenoir-Rhyne. The Wolfpack scored at will from the opening stretch, shot 75.0 percent from the field and 90.9 percent at the line in the first half, and turned the game into a runaway long before the final buzzer.
The scoring came from all over, but the sharpest signs were in the places the Pack has wanted to see improvement, namely shot-making and pace. Even with the result never really in doubt, the performance had the feel of a team that could make opponents work for every possession if this kind of efficiency carries over into the real games. [Read more 🡒]