Field Level Media
Jan 3, 2019
Guard Markell Johnson scored 20 points and guard Devin Daniels had 19 points and a key block late as No. 18 North Carolina State rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit for an 87-82 victory over Miami in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener Thursday night at Coral Gables, Fla.
Daniels' layup with 6:35 left capped an 11-0 spurt and gave the Wolfpack (13-1, 1-0 ACC) their first lead of the second half at 75-74. Forward DJ Funderburk then followed with a mid-range jumper to extend NC State's run to 13-0 with 5:41 to play.
The Wolfpack eventually built an 81-76 cushion on their way to a seventh consecutive victory.
Daniels' block of Miami guard Zach Johnson's layup came with 35 seconds left and preserved NC State's 81-78 lead. Markell Johnson followed with four free throws in the next 18 seconds.
Sophomore guard Chris Lykes scored a career-high 28 points for the Hurricanes (8-5, 0-1 ACC), who saw their winning streak end at three games. Zach Johnson added 21 points for the Hurricanes, and center Ebuka Izundu had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and third in the past four games.
Miami went into halftime up 45-37 thanks to a 17-2 closing run over the final five minutes of the period.
The Wolfpack was leading 35-28 before Anthony Lawrence II hit a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-0 spurt that put the Hurricanes up 39-35.
Wyatt Walker hit a follow shot at the 2:05 mark to end NC State's scoring drought, but the Hurricanes closed out the period by scoring the final six points.
Turnovers plagued the Wolfpack. NC State gave the ball away 16 times to just seven miscues by Miami. Both teams shot just under 46 percent from the floor, but the Wolfpack made 14 of 18 free throws (77.8 percent) while the Hurricanes sank just 16 of 29 from the line (55.2 percent).
--Field Level Media