NC State drops ACC road opener at Miami :: WRALSportsFan.com

By Joe Giglio, WRALSportsFan

Isaiah Wong got a dunk midway through the second half and Miami finally got going.

Wong scored 19 points to spark a second-half comeback by the Hurricanes in a 91-83 win over NC State on Wednesday night.

Miami’s star guard had only four points in the first half and the Canes trailed by as many as eight points in the second half.

Wong got a loose ball rebound in the paint, with 10:09 left in the game and then exploded to the rim for a powerful dunk.

Wong’s dunk cut NC State’s lead to 64-60 but, more importantly, it gave the Canes an emotional lift after getting mostly out-played by the Wolfpack (7-6).

Jericole Hellems scored a team-high 24 points but the Wolfpack dropped its fourth straight game and to 0-2 in ACC play.

NC State led 41-40 at the half and then 64-56 with 11:21 left in the second half. Hellems had 12 points in the first half in NC State’s first game since a listless loss to Wright State eight days ago.

Miami used an 8-0 run to take a 25-17 lead after a dunk by Deng Gak at 9:58 in the first half.

Miami (10-3) made 7 of its 13 3-point attempts in the first half but was out-rebounded 26-15. Miami shot even better in the second half. The Canes made 18 of 28 shots from the floor and scored 51 points in the second half.

Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron added 14 points each for the Wolfpack.