In almost a must win situation, NC State found ways and made the key plays needed to come away with a 74-68 ACC victory over the visiting Miami Hurricanes Tuesday night in front of a minimal crowd inside of PNC Arena.
DJ Horne was the hot hand early for the Wolfpack scoring 8 of the first 10 points for State as they held a 10-4 lead at the first media break. Horne then passed the torch over to Casey Morsell who took over on the offensive side for the Wolfpack filling the stat sheet with 10 points in the first half on 4-7 shooting as both teams traded baskets before a few late run by State put them ahead 33-29 at half time.
Miami opened the second half with multiple chances near the rim to go ahead or tie the contest and missed all four opportunities. A three point basket from Jayden Taylor gave NC State a 40-32 lead at the under 16 timeout. A three point play from Miami tied the game at 48-48 with just over 10 minutes left in regulation.
Miami would hold a short lead at 52-50 before a Morsell three made the score 53-52 giving NC State the lead for the remainder of the night. Jayden Taylor’s three point basket with five minutes left pushed the Pack lead to five which was enough to keep the Canes away the rest of the way as free throws down the stretch helped iced the game and end a season long three game losing skid for the Wolfpack.
NC State returns to action Saturday as they host Georgia Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 inside PNC Arena.