The NC State men’s basketball team, coming off a disappointing loss to Georgia Tech, won its second ACC game of the season, defeating the No. 15 Miami Hurricanes 85-69 Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack (12-10, 2-7 ACC) set the tone early, grabbing three offensive rebounds on the game’s first possession before junior point guard Cat Barber finally scored the Pack’s first points of the game. It was the start of a much different approach than the lackadaisical one in the first half against Georgia Tech Wednesday night.
“[Head coach Mark Gottfried] put a big emphasis on enthusiasm and effort [in practice],” junior forward Lennard Freeman said. “Today we came out with a lot of enthusiasm. We just turned it around and got a lot of rebounds.”
The game began with the two teams trading baskets, without either team able to gain a significant advantage over the other.
After the Hurricanes (16-4, 5-3 ACC) took a two-point lead with 12:46 remaining in the first half, State answered with a 6-0 run to take an 18-14 lead before a 3-pointer from junior guard Davon Reed pulled the Hurricanes back within one.
Despite Miami getting off to a hot start, shooting 4 for 5 from the field, the Pack picked up its defense forcing Miami to go on a 2-for-13 shooting slump starting midway through the first half.
“The beginning of the game, we came out with force,” Barber said. “We came out on fire. We came out with good enthusiasm and energy. We just had that throughout the game.”
When the Hurricanes finally began to find more success offensively, sophomore guard Caleb Martin nailed two-straight 3-pointers to keep the Pack ahead, 28-24 with 4:05 left in the first half.
State outrebounded Miami 6-0 in the final 2:35 of the half, helping it go on a 6-2 run to extend its lead to 37-32 at halftime.
After a disappointing effort on the boards against Georgia Tech, the Pack dominated a bigger, more experienced Miami front line on the glass, taking a 22-14 rebounding advantage to half. State continued its great effort on the glass in the second half, finishing with 41 rebounds to Miami’s 23.
“I just thought our whole team rebounded better,” Gottfried said. “We got whipped on the glass the other night. Georgia Tech whipped us. Tonight was a lot better.”
Barber, as he has done all year, led the Pack in the first half with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu added nine points, but only grabbed one rebound. Junior forward BeeJay Anya, who had only three rebounds the entire game against Georgia Tech, pulled down five in the first half.
Led by six points from Barber on 3-of-3 shooting, the Pack opened the second half on a 8-4 scoring run, giving it a nine-point lead — the biggest of the game to that point.
Three Wolfpack turnovers helped the Hurricanes answer with a 6-0 run to bring Miami within three points. Freshman guard Maverick Rowan responded with his first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer, to end the Miami run, making it 48-42.
Caleb Martin regained his shooting touch in the second half, once again hitting two 3-pointers in a row, giving State a 56-46 lead with 11:02 remaining.
Miami stormed back with a 7-2 run before Anya was fouled on a dunk attempt. Anya, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, hit both shots causing PNC to erupt into sarcastic cheer, giving the Pack a 60-53 lead with 8:09 left in the game.
Over the next four minutes, both teams struggled shooting and traded points before Abu flushed home a rebound, giving the Pack a 67-59 lead at the under-four media timeout.
The Wolfpack was able to hit the majority of its free throws down the stretch and did a solid job on the defensive end, keeping the Hurricanes from gaining ground as NC State eventually won 85-69.
Barber finished with 30 points, hitting all 10 of his free-throw attempts, three rebounds and four assists. Abu added 19 points, hitting all five of his free-throw attempts and seven rebounds while Caleb Martin scored 13 points, going 4 for 6 from behind the 3-point line.
“Today we came out, offense and defense, and played the game how NC State basketball can play,” Barber said. “If we just do that every night, we can win a lot of ball games.”
Sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu goes up hard to the basket in the Wolfpack's 85-69 win over Miami Saturday. The Wolfpack upset the No. 15 Hurricanes to grab its second conference win of the season. Abu made 7-of-12 field goals, 5-of-5 free throws, and had 19 total points in the upset at PNC Arena.
