NC State basketball fades late in 80-73 loss at Miami
NC State basketball, in the Pack’s first game without super senior and starting forward Dusan Mahorcic, started fast in the first half to build a 16-point lead at Miami. Then the Pack made timely shots after timely shots to maintain the advantage.
For 28-plus minutes, the Wolfpack led favored Hurricanes.
But the final 7 minutes did NC State in, and the Wolfpack would lose 80-73 to fall to 8-3 overall on the season and start 0-2 in the ACC. Miami improved to 10-1 and 2-0.
After NC State super senior guard Jarkel Joiner hit a three-pointer with 7:18 left to put the Wolfpack up 67-62, Miami went on a 10-0 run before senior guard Casey Morsell ended a nearly 5-minute scoring drought by making a 3-pointer.
Fifth-year senior post player D.J. Burns Jr., getting his second start of the season in place of the injured Morsell, would make a short shot in the lane with 1:30 remaining to cut the Canes’ lead to 74-72, but those would be the only 2 baskets scored by the Wolfpack after the aforementioned Joiner 3-pointer.
In the process, NC State lost a game during which the Wolfpack held a 16-point first-half lead at 33-17.
Miami caught fire after halftime and shot 57.1 percent in the second half, making 16 of 28 attempts from the field, including 5 of 10 threes. In the first half, the Canes were just 1 of 9 from long range.
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Meanwhile, NC State shot just 11 of 29 after the break, or 37.9 percent.
The guards continued to lead the way for NC State. Joiner finished with a game-high 26 points, making 10 of 16 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, while playing all 40 minutes. Sophomore Terquavion Smith, who was in for all but 1 minute during the contest, added 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting (3 of 11 on threes) and had a team-high 7 assists.
Burns scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while logging 31 minutes.
Miami was led by super senior forward Jordan Miller, who made 8 of 15 shots (2 of 5 threes) for 25 points, while fourth-year junior guard Isaiah Wong continued his career-long tradition of torching NC State, adding 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and a game-high 8 assists.
Third-year sophomore forward Norchad Omier had a double-double with 11 points and a contest-best 11 rebounds.
Next up for the Wolfpack is the final non-conference home game, with NC State hosting Furman for a 6:30 p.m. tip on Tuesday in a game that will be televised on the ACC Network. After that, NC State basketball will play in Chicago against Vanderbilt on Saturday evening before devoting the rest of the schedule to conference games.
