N.C. State followed a heart-breaking loss to rival UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday with a tough 85-70 loss to visiting Miami on Saturday. The Wolfpack (17-12 overall, 7-9 ACC) fought bravely, putting together a run midway through the second half to claim a brief lead over Miami. In the end, the Hurricanes (15-14 overall, 6-10 ACC) proved to be too much, answering with a late run of their own.
Sophomore forward T.J. Warren led the Wolfpack in scoring with 20 points. Freshman forward Kyle Washington added 13 points, while junior guard Desmond Lee chipped in with 10.
However, it wasn’t enough to match a Hurricane attack that featured five players in double figures, led by senior guard Rion Brown’s 20 points on seven-of-13 shooting. Graduate student guard Garrius Adams, an Apex native, added 16 points, while senior center Tonye Jekiri totaled 14 points, in addition to a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Hurricanes, normally a low-scoring team built on defense, overwhelmed the Pack on Saturday. Their 85 points and 58.7 shooting percentage from the field were both season highs.
“Miami played better than we did,” State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “They came in and played terrific basketball. We had a hard time guarding them off the dribble.”
Miami took an early lead, slicing State’s defense and getting to the rim for uncontested layups. The game went back and forth until junior guard Ralston Turner tied the game at 20-apiece with his second 3-pointer of the afternoon. State eventually took the lead at the 5:12 mark in the first half on a floater from Warren. Lee banged in two 3-pointers less than a minute apart to help State keep its lead.
“As a team, I think we were a little deflated [from Wednesday],” Washington said. “We have to stay together, we have to make sure we go for the same goal, and that’s winning and getting to the NCAA Tournament. We haven’t given up on that.”
Miami briefly re-took the lead, but Washington answered for the Pack, hitting a left-handed hook shot with 18 seconds left, drawing a foul in the process. The Champlin, Minn., native converted the and-one to put State on top, but the ‘Canes hit a 3-pointer to end the first half and take a 37-36 lead into the break.
The Hurricanes carried that momentum into the second half, stretching their lead to as much as eight points over the opening 10 minutes after halftime. The Hurricanes used dribble drives to their advantage, attacking the basket for layups and drawing fouls. Miami shot 26-of-32 from the foul line.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Lee said. “[Miami] was making their free throws.”
Halfway through the second half, Warren erupted, converting an and-one after an offensive put-back. The Durham native then grabbed a steal on Miami’s ensuing inbounds play, and he made the fast-break layup to cut Miami’s lead to three. Warren had three more breakaways created by State’s press, the last of which turned into a dunk, giving the Wolfpack a one-point lead.
Just as the Wolfpack seemed to be gaining momentum, Miami quickly silenced N.C. State’s outburst. The ‘Canes reclaimed the lead and went on a 13-0 run, stretching their advantage to 77-65 with 2:15 left and essentially putting the game on ice.
“We climbed a mountain, and they took it back over,” Gottfried said. “It’s difficult to climb a mountain twice.”
The Wolfpack will hit the road to face Pittsburgh on Monday night at 7 p.m. The Panthers defeated State 74-62 on Jan. 4 in Raleigh.
