Wolfpack Finishes Difficult Maui Trip With Loss to Texas
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NC State suffered its second loss of the season in the fifth-place game of the Southwest Maui Invitational, falling 102-97 to the Texas Longhorns. After a nice bounce-back win over Boise State in Tuesday's game, the Wolfpack were blitzed from 3-point range by Sean Miller's group.
For the Wolfpack, Quadir Copeland and Ven-Allen Lubin led the way with 28 and 23 points each. NC State fell to 5-2 with the loss, while the Longhorns improved to 6-2.
No stopping Pope
NC State’s defense struggled to contain veteran guard Jordan Pope. The Prolific Prep product ripped the cords on his first four 3-point attempts, but the Wolfpack made very little adjustment with him defensively in the first half. It was the latest strong individual performance against the Wolfpack defense, which allows certain shots based on analytics.
Pope paced the Longhorns in the first 20 minutes, helping them go up by as many as 15 points. Texas went into the halftime locker room with a 10-point lead, primarily because of the guard’s performance. He finished with 17 points in the first half and made a total of five 3-pointers before the buzzer sounded.
7th made 3 of the night for @jpope0 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/tQmxmdXs7j
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025
Going back to his days at Oregon State, Pope was known as a streaky shooter. There was no doubt he was at the top of the list on the Wolfpack’s halftime discussions. Even so, Darrion Williams missed his assignment right out of the half and the Texas guard drained another shot from 3-point range less than two minutes into the half.
The senior guard finished the game with 28 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 7-of-13 from three across 38 minutes of action.
Swimming in the ocean defensively
whole team is firing at a high level 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/3kFakw6ok2
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025
Before NC State left for the Maui Invitational, Will Wade expressed concerns over his team’s defensive efforts, saying they would be “swimming in the ocean” if they didn’t turn things around after beating VCU. Wednesday’s matchup marked a new low for the Wolfpack defense, as the Longhorns worked with very little resistance for long stretches of the game.
Texas finished the first half shooting 60% from the field and buried eight 3-pointers on the Pack. Wade’s group appeared to turn a corner against Boise State, but that was a mirage. Many of the makes from 3-point range came without much objection. The Longhorns were taking what the defense allowed, as they scored 72 points in the paint during the win over Chaminade.
THAT'S CAM HEIDE 🤘🔥#HookEm pic.twitter.com/3h0nr9d0zo
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025
Both teams faced issues in their prior games with defending without fouling. There was no improvement in that aspect for both the Wolfpack and the Longhorns. Wade’s group committed 10 fouls in the first half, while Texas received seven whistles. NC State failed to adjust in the second half and committed 17 total fouls in the game. Tre Holloman, Williams and Alyn Breed all fouled out.
After taking its first lead since early in the game, the Wolfpack allowed the Longhorns to rip off a quick 9-0 run with three uncontested 3-pointers to back up nine. That run proved too much for the Wolfpack to come back from.
Lubin has arrived
Perfect pass. Perfect finish.
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 27, 2025
📺: ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/dClDe9H0QO
Ven-Allen Lubin began the season quietly in the four games at the Lenovo Center, but came alive in the final two games in Maui. At times, he was the best offensive option for the Wolfpack against the Longhorns, battling inside despite giving up size to Texas center Matas Vokietaitis.
The North Carolina transfer used his nifty footwork to create space and finished strongly at the rim. He was on the receiving end of some quality passes as well, particularly early in the second half. Lubin rocked the rim with a thunderous slam to cut the Longhorn lead to just four points just before the under-16 media timeout. Lubin's 23 points were a season-high.
Back in the fight
With Lubin’s surge propelling the Wolfpack back into the fight, a 14-4 run in the early part of the second half helped NC State cut the Longhorn lead to just one point.
While Texas didn’t show any signs of slowing down from beyond the arc, the Wolfpack started to match Sean Miller's squad. Paul McNeil drilled a corner three to get the Pack within one, but they gave another up. Tre Holloman took the initiative and drilled a step-back corner three of his own for the fifth 3-pointer of the night by NC State.
Texas led for over 20 minutes until senior guard Alyn Breed came up with a catch-and-shoot three in the corner to knot the game at 59 just before the U-12 timeout. The sudden success from beyond the arc galvanized the Wolfpack fans still showing up at the Lahaina Civic Center and sparked some energy from the bench that Wade was looking for.
The Pack had a chance to take its first lead since the first few minutes of the game, but Williams missed a pair of free throws after Vokietaitis was tagged with a technical foul. They were Williams’ first misses from the free-throw line all season.
Final Word
NC State’s improvement in the paint, outscoring Texas 46-20 inside, was no match for the barrage of threes from the Longhorns. The Wolfpack also failed to force turnovers against a team that struggled with them throughout the Maui Invitational.
The loss ended the Wolfpack’s run through the tournament with a sixth-place finish, far from the goals Wade had for his group before they boarded the plane Friday. The Pack will get a full week between games, but the competition will be the best yet. NC State will face Auburn in the ACC/SEC challenge on Wednesday in Alabama.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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