A late first-half run propelled North Carolina State to a 76-61 win over Butler in the final game of the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis Friday night at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
 
With the win, the Wolfpack claim fifth place in the event and improve to 6-1 on the season; Butler falls to 4-3.
 
STAT OF SIGNIFICANCE: NCSU closed the first half on a 15-2 run that turned a 20-20 contest with 6:59 remaining into a 35-22 halftime advantage. The Wolfpack converted nine first-half turnovers by Butler into 14 points.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 20 points, his second 20-point game of the season and the 12^th of his career.
• Jayden Taylor scored 18 points, his fourth straight game scoring at least 18 points.
• NC State committed only five total turnovers, while forcing the Bulldogs into 14. NCSU had a 21-6 advantage in points off turnovers for the game.
• Jarkel Joiner led five Wolfpack players in double figures with 15 points.
• Manny Bates had eight points, a game-high nine rebounds and three blocks for the Bulldogs while playing against his former team.
• NCSU had a 16-4 edge in free throw attempts in the contest.
• The Wolfpack's halftime lead grew to 20 (58-38) with 10:57 remaining; Butler was able to chip the lead down to 10 with 5:55 remaining after an 8-0 run, but never trimmed the lead to single digits at any point in the second half.
• North Carolina State had 20 bench points compared to zero for Butler. The Bulldogs were limited to eight healthy players and the team's five starters played 180 of the 200 total minutes.

 
OF NOTE:

• The Bulldogs were without DJ Hughes Friday night after he suffered a concussion in Thursday's win over BYU. Butler has been without Ali Ali, John-Michael Mulloy, Jalen Thomas, and Myles Wilmoth due to injury for the entirety of the season thus far.
• This was the first meeting between Butler and the Wolfpack. Boston College and Georgia Tech are now the only two members of the current 15-team ACC that Butler has yet to face.
• The 2022 edition served as Butler's third appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 
• Bates – in his first season with the Bulldogs – missed two of his four seasons with the Wolfpack due to injury, but still registered 147 career blocks, which are fourth-most in program history.
• No. 22 Tennessee, which defeated Butler in the opening round of the event, beat No. 3 Kansas in the championship game Friday.

 
UP NEXT: Once the Bulldogs return to Indianapolis, the team's next match-up is with Kansas State at Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Kansas State just won the 2022 Cayman Island Classic Championship and is 6-0 on the season.