Some of the NC State newcomers got their first taste of true adversity this season.
The Wolfpack had lost three straight games — vs. Virginia Tech, at Virginia and at Syracuse — and the tension was raised for Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday at PNC Arena.
NC State senior combo guard D.J. Horne came through with 16 of his 24 points in the second half during a 74-68 win. NCSU improved to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the ACC, and the crisis stretch has been met head on.
“I thought we played desperate basketball like we had to have it,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “I was proud to see it out of this bunch. This bunch in particular haven’t been through adversity. You could generally see guys happy for each other.”
NC State started four guards and a post player to combat the quicker Hurricanes, and it paid off with each guard taking a turn making a big play down the stretch. Fourth-year junior point guard Michael O’Connell made a shrewd driving layup to beat the shot clock to give the Wolfpack a 70-55 lead with 1:11.
Horne fittingly made four straight free throws in the final 19 seconds to secure the win and also had a knack for answering Miami guard Nijel Pack’s hot second-half shooting.
“We are unstoppable, I’ll just say that,” said Horne about the guards playing well. “One thing we have yet to see this season is all of us clicking at the same time. When we are, we can be unstoppable.
“We needed this bad. We just told ourselves to just about the guys within these walls right here, and not let the outside have much influence on us.”
NC State junior guard Jayden Taylor hit a big three-pointer to stretch the lead to 62-57 with 5:28 left, and was chasing Pack around defensively for the majority of the game.
Both Taylor and Pack are from Indianapolis, Ind., but no competitive background against each other prior to Tuesday.
“There is no history, but he’s a good player,” Taylor said. “Being from Indiana, you see him a lot.
“Losing three in a row, just give us a weird feeling and a weird vibe. We just wanted to fix it.”
Senior wing Casey Morsell proved steady and answered the bell when Miami took a rare lead, 52-50, by draining a three-pointer with 8:20 left. NC State never trailed the rest of the game.
“It was really good to have Casey back,” Keatts said teasingly. “He was 3 of 4 from three.”
The four guards combined for 59 points and 10 assists in the victory, and that more than offset the one-two punch of Miami’s Pack (23 points) and junior wing Wooga Poplar (10 points). The Hurricanes went just 7 of 28 from three-point land and shot 36.4 percent overall.
Keatts said the Wolfpack had to defend the three-point line and get back in transition. An added bonus he joked about was Pack limited to nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
“He is a good player who makes good plays,” Keatts said.
NC State expected a challenge inside from Miami junior Omier Norchad, who is enjoying a terrific season. He lived up to his billing with 18 points and 14 rebounds, including seven of the Hurricanes’ 20 offensive rebounds. The latter number is one aspect of the game that did bother Keatts.
NC State returns to action Saturday against Georgia Tech at 5:30 p.m. at PNC Arena. The Yellow Jackets (10-11 overall, 3-7 ACC) upset previously unbeaten in ACC action North Carolina at home on Tuesday.
“In this league, anybody can beat you and you have to have short-term memory,” Keatts said.
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