One day from the UNCW exhibition, and the last clear takeaway from High Point is that NC State needs to play with the same energy and attention to the little things for a full game that they showed early.

The first quarter was the version that looked right. They came out with energy, forced turnovers, and turned them into easy buckets. After that, it leveled off. High Point scored more freely, some possessions got sloppy, and the overall effort on both ends wasn’t as consistent. Moore talked about it after the game. He said they had a good start, but from there it felt like they had a lot to work on. He also said some of the defensive breakdowns came from not finishing plays hard enough or quick enough, and that they’ve got to clean those things up.

The little things showed up in a few places. Woodard got to the glass too often because the boxing out wasn’t automatic. Some rotations were late. Offensively, the decisions got rushed at times once the defense helped. Moore has said they need their best players to be clearly better than the opponent on both ends, not just put up numbers while giving something back on the other end. He also noted that a few players, including freshman Annsley Trivette, brought the kind of blue-collar effort they need more of.

The work heading into UNCW is probably about sustaining that early energy instead of letting it fade. Play hard for the full possession on defense. Finish the little things even when the game isn’t close. Don’t get comfortable just because the first quarter went well. Moore has said this is the earliest they’ve ever played a game, so some of the inconsistency was expected, but the goal is to show a more complete version against the Seahawks.

If the energy and the little things stay consistent for 40 minutes, a lot of the issues from High Point get smaller. UNCW will be the last public look at whether that version shows up before the regular season.