Of course it was the beloved returners.
Ven-Allen Lubin knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with one minute remaining, allowing N.C. State to take a 72-71 lead after previously giving up a three-possession advantage. He added two more with 21.7 seconds left.
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Then, Paul McNeil hit a pair of free throws with one second left to push the game out of reach.
The two led N.C. State to a 77-73 win over Mississippi State on Sunday during a preseason exhibition at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro.
“It was amazing,” said N.C. State sophomore guard Preston Edmead. “Obviously, the Wolfpack fans they came out and supported us. We’ve got a great fan base behind us, and that just shows the N.C. State culture that is here at the school. We’re proud to wear this uniform and proud to go out there and play for them.”
The win won’t show in the record book, but it’s the first under Justin Gainey, and it took place in the head coach’s hometown.
N.C. State still has work to do, but it seemed to live up to its “gritty not pretty” mantra. The Wolfpack, at times, struggled on both ends of the floor. It forced some shots and missed assignments on defense. The team watched its eight-point lead dwindle and turn into a six-point drought with 2:50 remaining on the clock.
The “gritty,” however, showed up down the stretch as it made clutch free throws, recorded a steal and had five rebounds in the final two and half minutes. The Bulldogs didn’t score a field goal in the final 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
Lubin took little credit, complimenting his teammates for their contributions in the win.
“It’s more important how the team was able to respond, being down six points with less than three minutes to go,” Lubin said. “Anybody can lose confidence and hang their heads on how the ending is going to be, but we didn’t.”
Edmead and fellow newcomer Darius Adams made a solid first impression in their inaugural outings for the Wolfpack.
The duo impressed both in their abilities to create space for their own shots and create for others. Adams, the Maryland transfer, had a swift drive to the basket and layup in the second half to put N.C. State up three points with just under 10 points to play. In the first half, Paul McNeil cut to the basket and Adams found him for a wide-open layup.
Edmead, a Hofstra transfer, made a handful of clutch shots, including a tough drive to the basket to end a second-half scoring drought. He finished the day with a team-high 16 points on 3 of 4 3-point shooting.
Adams, meanwhile, recorded 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. He scored 11 of his points in the first half, before Edmead put up 11 of his in the second.
McNeil finished with 16 points. He shot 3 of 11 from the field and only 1 of 7 from 3, but the guard was a perfect 9 of 9 from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds in the win.
Lubin also put up 13 points, including 9 of 12 from the line. He made his last four.
Josh Hubbard, the three-time All-SEC selection and former All-American, was not available for the Bulldogs. Instead, Tajuan Simkins led all players with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists. Kimani Hamilton added nine points and seven rebounds.
“We’re nowhere near a finished product, but in practice you can tell them all you want, ‘You got to do this, got to do this.’ But until you know you’re in an atmosphere like this that they really see it sometimes. It was good,” Gainey said. “We’re able to get it on film. It was good being back. We’ll be back in December, and then again in March. Anytime we can get in here and get some reps is always good.”
N.C. State started Preston Edmead (point guard), Darius Adams (shooting guard), Paul McNeil (small forward), Ven-Allen Lubin (power forward) and Kyle Evans (center).
It has some flexibility on its depth chart, though. Christian Hammond was one of the first players off the bench, and he played for Edmead and Adams when one was off the court.
McNeil, while he played at the three spot, has previously shown the ability to move around the floor, as necessary.
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Lubin and Evans started in the front court, as expected. Shah Hall initially came off the bench to replace Lubin, but he played on the interior when Evans got in foul trouble. Eemeli Yalaho and Robert Jurkovic also saw playing time, Yalaho playing at the four and five.
The versatility should help N.C. State when the season officially starts, allowing the team to work around any injuries or opponent mismatches.
The rebounding still has a long way to go. A long, long, long way.
Despite a verbal emphasis the entire offseason — even N.C. State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan has discussed rebounding as a priority — the Wolfpack was out-rebounded 39-30, including 18 boards on the offensive glass. Mississippi State scored 15 second-chance points off the additional possessions, and it scored 36 points in the paint.
N.C. State was aggressive all day on the defensive end, diving for loose balls and putting pressure on Mississippi State. Gainey said his group defended well for about 25 seconds of the shot clock, but it gave up fouls or second-chance opportunities in the final seconds, forcing the team to guard again.
“Our first shot defense was pretty good,” Gainey said. “Eighteen offensive rebounds, that’s going to put you on defense a lot. You’re going to lose that possession battle every time when you do that. The effort, the intent, the talk in the huddles — they were talking about getting stops, encouraged by it — but we’ve got to rebound the basketball.”
While forward Lubin finished with five rebounds, he had opportunities for more but struggled to corral the basketball. He can’t shoulder the blame. Four of N.C. State’s other primary bigs combined for four rebounds. Part of the issue can be attributed to foul trouble (more on that in a second), but N.C. State seemingly misread plays and wasn’t firm with the ball.
Sophomore Zymicah Wilkins was the most effective backup big off the glass. He entered the game midway through the second half and grabbed three rebounds and a tip-in basket in under four minutes played.
Wilkins committed under Kevin Keatts and redshirted under Will Wade. He finally got his turn.
“(Gainey) told us that for the guys who didn’t play as much or didn’t play as much as they expected, just take a look at Mikey and what he did with his minutes and his opportunities,” Lubin said. “You just never know. We give credit to Mikey. We really appreciate his efforts and what he does for this team, because it’s valued here for this program.”
N.C. State was slightly hamstrung in its exhibition with multiple players in foul trouble.
Officials called N.C. State for 10 first-half fouls. Edmead, Evans and Lubin each picked up two in the opening period. Edmead fouled out with 1:18 remaining in the second half, a somewhat controversial 50-50 play.
Every coach talks about defending without fouling, and Gainey is no different. Some of the calls, however, are better than others. Evans and Lubin’s, for example, picked up foul calls when they attempted to block Mississippi State baskets. They were defensive effort calls, as opposed to carelessness.
Gainey argued against Evans’ and Lubin’s calls immediately, believing their defensive efforts should’ve been counted as blocks instead of negatively impacting the Pack.
Evans picked up his third foul 55 seconds into the second half. He was called for his fourth with 17:42 remaining in the second half, making contact with Mississippi State’s RJ Johnson after jumping for an expected block.
Jurkovic picked up a foul less than one second after checking in with 14:47 left in the game. Gainey, and the rest of the Wolfpack fans, criticized the call, stating Jurkovic had his feet planted and his arms were completely vertical.
Lubin limited his fouls in the second half, only picking up one. Gainey said that was a key piece with the other bigs on the bench.
“Ven is such a versatile piece, and you can play him in a lot of different ways. He’s so cerebral. He’s smart, and you can run the offense through him, as you saw,” Gainey said. “As we came down the stretch, he closed it for us. … His versatility has a huge impact on our team.”
The officials, however, were balanced in their foul calls, with both teams committing 24 fouls.
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This story was originally published October 18, 2026 at 7:51 PM.