NC State was in control, and then they weren’t Wednesday at Miami.
The Wolfpack came out with good energy, got great bench contributions and killed it on the offensive boards. Yet, Miami rallied from eight points down over the last 11:21 to cruise to a 91-83 victory. NC State, which has four straight games, fell to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. Miami improved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the league.
NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said he was proud of how his team fought and competed against the Hurricanes.
“There was a lot of good things that we could take from this game,” Keatts said. “The most positive thing is that we were able to get some scoring from our bench.”
The spark Miami needed was changing Isaiah Wong back to point guard. He was turned loose over the last 10:09 and got into the paint, sparked by his big offensive rebound and dunk. Wong rattled off 14 of his 19 points in the second half, but he had plenty of help. Miami shot an impressive 55.4 percent from the field and 10 of 19 on three-pointers.
George Mason transfer Jordan Miller, a stretch four, had some big games at his previous school, but he hadn’t scored more than 14 points this season, and has reached double figures in two games. He proved to be a big problem for the NC State defense, scoring 25 points and he went 4 of 6 from three-point line.
Helping carry Miami in the first half including super senior Kameron McGusty, who finished with 20 points.
“Both Wong and McGusty, two veteran guards, both made plays down the stretch,” Keatts said. “I thought that was the difference in the game.
“When you look at Miller, I think Miller had a great game.”
And another subtle move that paid off for Miami was backup center Anthony Walker coming in for Deng Gak and added 11 points and four boards in 23 minutes. Miami was playing without starting center Sam Waardenburg, who was out with Covid.
One the tried and truisms of college basketball is that the home team usually has a run left in the tank, and the visiting team needs to match that intensity.
“Unfortunately, it was a game of runs,” Keatts said. “We had our runs and they had their runs. I think at the end, their veteran guards took over.”
What helped NC State remain right there or leading Miami for most of the game was 27 points off the bench and a 18-6 advantage on the offensive boards. Guard Thomas Allen played his best game of the season with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He helped support the all-around sharp play of senior forward Jericole Hellems, who had a team-high 24 points and six boards.
NC State also had 18 assists on 30 made field goals.
“I thought Thomas Allen came in and did a great job and so did [freshman post] Ernest [Ross], [freshman point guard] Breon Pass and [third-year sophomore wing] Casey Morsell,” said Keatts, who added that Allen and Pass took advantage of gym time during the break in games.
NC State returns to action Saturday at 4 p.m. at PNC Arena against Florida State.
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