In an exciting final game of the season, the Miami Hurricanes pulled off a stunning 72-70 victory against N.C. State thanks to Brandon Johnson’s last-second putback slam. Miami had trailed by 13 points early in the second half but managed to tie the score at 70 with 1:53 remaining on 3-pointers from Matthew Cleveland and A.J. Stanton-McCray. Cleveland scored a career-high 32 points in the game.
The win came just days after the Hurricanes announced the hiring of Jai Lucas as their new head coach. Lucas, who previously coached at Duke, will be introduced at a press conference on Monday. Neither Miami nor N.C. State qualified for the ACC Tournament, with N.C. State finishing in no better than a tie for 16th and Miami ending the season in last place in the conference.
Dontrez Styles led N.C. State with 24 points, while Paul McNeil Jr. and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Wolfpack led by 13 early in the second half but went scoreless in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the game, allowing Miami to secure the win.
The victory marked a thrilling end to the season for the Hurricanes, who finished with a 7-24 record overall and a 3-17 record in the ACC. Miami’s future looks promising under the leadership of Coach Lucas, providing hope for a stronger performance in the seasons to come.
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