Wong, Timberlake lead Miami past N.C. State 65-59
RALEIGH, N.C. -- — Isaiah Wong scored 24 points and Earl Timberlake had six of his career-high 13 in the last 68 seconds as Miami finally won a close game, defeating North Carolina State 64-59 on Saturday.
Wong had a layup in an 8-0 run inside the last four minutes that put the Hurricanes, who lost their previous three games by a total of five points, ahead 58-54. Timberlake capped the run from the foul line with 1:08 to play.
The Wolfpack got a quick 3-pointer from Thomas Allen in the right corner, his fourth, to make it a one-point game. Miami ran the clock down before Wong missed a layup but Timberlake grabbed the rebound and slammed it home. Seconds later he grabbed a Wolfpack miss and was fouled, the freshman calmly making two at the line for a 62-57 lead.
Wong added free throws after N.C. State missed for a 14-3 closing run before DJ Funderburk scored at the buzzer.
The Hurricanes (5-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) were coming off losses of 80-78 to Virginia Tech, 66-65 to Clemson and 67-65 to North Carolina.
Allen scored 14 points to lead the Wolfpack (6-3, 2-2), who played their fourth tight game. Funderburk scored 12 and matched his career-high with 11 rebounds and Devon Daniels added 11. N.C. State's last three games were decided by a total of 10 points, including two wins.
Miami led 32-31 after a tight first half. Until the closing seconds, Miami's biggest lead in the second half came after Wong and Timberlake combined for a 7-0 run for a 40-36 lead. In the middle of the half, Daniels and Funderburk combined for 10 points in an 11-0 that gave N.C. State it's biggest second-half lead at 51-45.
In the second half, Miami shot 52% and made 9 of 12 free throws while the Wolfpack shot 35.5% and was 2 of 6 from the line.
Miami goes to Boston College on Tuesday. N.C. State is scheduled to play at Florida State on Wednesday.
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2020-2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | 10-3 | - | 14-4 |
| Virginia | 12-4 | +0.5 | 16-6 |
| Virginia Tech | 9-4 | 1 | 15-5 |
| Louisville | 8-4 | 1.5 | 13-5 |
| Clemson | 9-5 | 1.5 | 15-5 |
| North Carolina | 9-6 | 2 | 15-9 |
| Georgia Tech | 9-6 | 2 | 13-8 |
| Duke | 9-7 | 2.5 | 11-9 |
| Syracuse | 8-7 | 3 | 14-8 |
| NC State | 8-8 | 3.5 | 12-9 |
| Notre Dame | 6-10 | 5.5 | 9-13 |
| Pittsburgh | 5-9 | 5.5 | 9-10 |
| Wake Forest | 3-13 | 8.5 | 6-13 |
| Boston College | 2-9 | 7 | 4-13 |
| Miami | 3-15 | 9.5 | 7-16 |