Horne, Morsell load lift as North Carolina St. ends 3-game skid holding off injured Miami

RALEIGH, N.C. -- — DJ Horne had 22 points and Casey Morsell scored 17 and the two combined to make half of North Carolina State's shots as the Wolfpack ended a three-game losing streak by beating Miami 74-68 in frantic fashion at the end on Tuesday night.

Horne shot 7 for 14, Morsell went 6 for 9, a combined 13-for-23 effort with North Carolina State (14-7, 6-4 ACC) shooting 26 for 54 (48.1%) overall. Jayden Taylor added 12 points.

Nijel Pack scored all 23 of his points after halftime and Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar each recorded double-doubles for Miami, which was without second-leading scorer Matthew Cleveland (14.8 points per game) for the second straight game as he recovers from a hip injury after a win against Notre Dame.

Morsell's 3 with 2:45 left before halftime made it 29-27 and North Carolina State never trailed again. North Carolina State led 33-29 at halftime, and despite its persistent lead could never create safe distance against Miami.

Pack shot just once in the first half and committed two fouls. But he bounced back with 7-for-13 shooting after the break. Trailing 70-65 with 50 seconds left, Pack missed a 3-pointer but drew the foul on Horne. Though he made just 1 of 3 from the line, the Wolfpack immediately turned the ball back over to Miami following a halfcourt violation.

Down 70-66, Kyshawn George and Pack each missed 3s following offensive rebounds and Omier failed to convert a contested shot close to the rim after Pack's missed 3. Horne proceeded to seal it, making a pair of foul shots twice in the final 19 seconds.

Miami (14-7, 5-5) hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday. North Carolina State hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.

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