N.C. State drops fourth straight game. Miami surges past Wolfpack late for 91-83 win
One of the toughest things for any college basketball team is learning how to finish out a game, especially on the road.
Make the key plays, knock down the game-changing shots, hustle for the tough rebounds, lock down on defense. Show poise, display toughness. Win.
N.C. State is still learning all those things — the hard way. The Wolfpack dropped its fourth straight game Wednesday, losing at Miami 91-83 after leading the Hurricanes much of the second half at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.
But the final five minutes were winning time. The Hurricanes owned those five minutes, surging into the lead and forcing the Pack into too many impatient shots to notch their sixth consecutive victory and second ACC win.
The Hurricanes (10-3, 2-0 ACC) got a combined 64 points from Jordan Miller, Kameron McGusty and Isaiah Wong. They also scored 51 second-half points on 64.3-percent shooting. That’s getting it done.
That was too much for the Pack (7-6, 0-2) to overcome in its first ACC road game of the season. Senior Jerciole Hellems had 24 points — passing the 1,000 mark in career points — and the Wolfpack got 27 much-needed points from its bench, including 13 from Thomas Allen.
Dereon Seabron had his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and also had six assists, but the Canes’ offensive patience and efficiency was the difference.
“Give Miami credit,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought both Wong and McGusty, two veteran guards, made plays down the stretch and I thought that was the difference in the game. Miller had a great game. That being said, there were a lot of good things we can take from this game. One of the most positive things is we were able to get some scoring from our bench.
“I thought we did some really good stuff in the game. Unfortunately it was a game of runs. We made our run and they made their run, and I think there at the end their veteran guards took over and we showed a little bit of youth.”
The Pack led 41-40 at the half and had worked its way to a 64-56 lead nine minutes into the second half. But a resounding drive and dunk by Wong, who had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, spurred the Hurricanes’ comeback.
A 3-pointer by Wong tied the score 73-73 with six minutes left in the second half, and another 3 by Wong from the right corner off a McGusty drive and kick gave Miami the lead with 4:39 left. Miami, which had points on 12 of its last 15 possessions, outscored the Pack 23-10 in the final seven minutes,
“I just feel like we’ve got to play harder,” said the Pack’s Terquavion Smith, who had 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. “When the game gets close we’ve got to play harder. Every possession counts in college basketball. We’ve got to put together two 20-minute halves where we play 110 percent every time.”
That kind of effort, missing for much of a disturbing 84-70 loss to Wright State on Dec. 21, was there in long stretches for the Wolfpack. They hurt the Canes at times with their quickness in transition and in penetrating the lane, and attacked the offensive glass for 18 offensive rebounds. The Pack finished with 18 assists and seven turnovers, often winning numbers.
But Miller (25 points) would drain a 3-pointer for the Canes. McGusty did a little of everything for Miami, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists. And Wong, a smooth 6-3 sophomore, took charge in the second half after a quiet first half.
“They made some tough shots,” Keatts said. “At the end we needed some stops we couldn’t get. We did a good job on Wong in the first half. In the second half we let him get into the paint. He and McGusty made great plays at the end when we needed to make some stops.”
Miami played without 6-10 senior center Sam Waardenburg and freshman Wooga Poplar, who both missed the game after entering the COVID protocol.
The Pack is scheduled to host Florida State on Saturday — during the pandemic, nothing is a given. The Seminoles have missed their last three scheduled games because of COVID issues within their program. Then it’s on to Virginia Tech — which had to postpone its Wednesday game at North Carolina because of COVID issues — for the Wolfpack on Tuesday.
“I’m encouraged by some of the things I saw from our guys,” Keatts said. “This was our highest assist game of the year. We were able to get out in transition and get 24 points.
“So we did a lot of good things but obviously we’ve got to continue to get better. And as we grow as a team I think we’ll see different results at the end.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 11:24 PM with the headline "N.C. State drops fourth straight game. Miami surges past Wolfpack late for 91-83 win."
