The NC State men's basketball team dropped its game at Ole Miss, 72-52, Tuesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
After a slow start to the game, NC State battled back to within eight points at halftime, but Ole Miss scored the first five points of the second half and the Pack never got within single digits the rest of the way.
Ben Middlebrooks posted the first double-double of his career with a career-high 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. He also tied his career-high with two blocks.
The junior from Fort Lauderdale was joined in double figures by
Casey Morsell who finished with 12 points. Ole Miss had four players reach double figures led by Jaemyn Brakefield who scored a game-high 25 points.
The Pack finished the game shooting just 31.8 percent from the field, including 12.0 percent (3-of-25) from three-point range.
NC State came into the contest with the Rebels leading the ACC and ranking fifth in NCAA in turnover margin at +7.8, but on Tuesday night the Pack turned it over 13 times while Ole Miss only committed seven turnovers.
Ole Miss used an early 13-2 run to take a 17-5 lead seven minutes into the game. Middlebrooks started a Pack 8-0 run with three consecutive baskets to cut the Rebels' lead to 20-17, but Ole Miss responded with a 10-2 run to push the advantage back into double digits with five minutes left in the opening half.
NC State opens ACC play Saturday afternoon when it travels to Chestnut Hills, Mass., to take on Boston College at Conte Forum. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/11/28/mens-basketball-pack-falls-to-ole-miss