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The Miami Hurricanes couldn't get into a five-man rhythm Wednesday night in a 80-63 loss to the North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena, shooting just 36.4% from the field and making a paltry three of their 16 3-point shot attempts.
The loss gives Miami (10-6, 2-4 ACC) their third loss in four outings. UM is without a road win since Dec. 31 at Clemson.
Chris Lykes led all scorers with 20 points. On many evenings, that would be enough to lead the team to victory. But Wednesday, the point guard couldn't get the necessary help from his teammates to stay within arms length of the Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
Outside of Lykes as well as DJ Vasiljevic and Rodney Miller’s 16 points each, the Canes put a measly 11 points on the board. Even Kameron McGusty couldn't make the box score until the game’s closing moments. To compare, the Wolfpack scored 26 points off the bench, one more than all of UM’s team in the first half.
Miami turned the ball over 15 times Wednesday, essentially giftwraping 13 points to NC State. The ‘Pack also held advantages in assists (14-3), blocked shots (7-2) and steals (9-3).
Four of NC State’s players reached double-figures, led by DJ Funderburk with 19 points. Devon Daniels, Jericole Hellems and Markell Johnson logged, 15, 11 and 10 points respectively, with Funderburk’s eight rebounds also being a team-high.
The Hurricanes led by as much as six early in the first half, but went into halftime down 33-25 in large part due to losing the turnover battle by four and allowing nine Wolfpack offensive rebounds. NC State also went on a 10-0 run in the final four minutes of the opening half.
Lykes’ 10 points led all Canes going into the break, while Miller added eight of his own.
There were few highlights in the second half however, as Miami would find themselves down by as much as 20.
The Hurricanes return home for a rivalry matchup with the Florida State Seminoles at the Watsco Center, with tip set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen on the ACC Network and heard on 560 WQAM, 990 WMYM and 90.5 WVUM-FM.
And the road doesn't get any easier after FSU, with a trip back to the Research Triangle for games at Duke on Jan. 21 and at North Carolina on Jan. 25.