Jordan Pope’s 28-point performance propelled the Texas Longhorns to a 102-97 victory over North Carolina State in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday night in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Pope shot 8-of-15 from the floor and knocked down seven 3-pointers while Chendall Weaver scored 17 points to go along with eight boards.
Four others were in double figures as the Longhorns (6-2) beat their first ranked opponent of the season. Dailyn Swain recorded 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Matas Vokietaitis chipped in 13 points and Simeon Wilcher and Camden Heide scored 12 and 11, respectively.
The Wolfpack (5-2) lost despite having three players tally 20 or more points, including Quadir Copeland, who finished with 28 while dishing out six assists
Ven-Allen Lubin scored 23 on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds and Paul McNeil finished with 20. Darrion Williams added 10 as North Carolina State lost its second game in a row.
Texas led 47-37 at halftime behind 17 first-half points form Pope, who stayed hot early in the second half as he drilled his sixth 3-pointer for a 50-39 lead with 18:52 left.
But North Carolina State refused to fold and was within 54-53 with 15:09 showing on the clock thanks to McNeil’s 3-pointer.
The Wolfpack later tied the game at 59-59 with 12:16 remaining on a long-range shot by Alyn Breed.
The score was tied at 64-64 with just under 10 minutes remaining before Pope delivered a clutch 3-pointer with 9:40 to go.
Breed gave the Wolfpack a 71-70 lead with 7:51 left but it was short-lived as Wilcher’s 3-pointer put Texas back on top with 7:25 left.
His shot sparked a 10-0 run, punctuated by Heide’s 3-pointer for an 80-71 lead at the 5:49 mark and the Longhorns never looked back.
The Wolfpack opened the game on a 6-0 run, capped by Williams’ 3-pointer with 17:01 to play.
The Longhorns answered with a 3-pointer of their own 30 seconds later as Heide knocked down a long-range shot to end Texas’ scoring drought.
The Longhorns led 28-23 with 6:20 left on a 3-pointer by Wilcher and extended the lead to double-digits when Swain threw down a dunk off a steal for a 35-25 advantage at the 4:45 mark.
Texas had its biggest lead of the half at 45-30 with 1:20 remaining after another dunk by Swain.
The Longhorns shot 60% from the field in the first half, making eight shots from distance, but the Wolfpack was within 10 at the half after a 3-pointer from McNeil with four seconds left.
