Freshman Julius Mays buried a straightaway three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in overtime to help North Carolina State beat Miami 84-81 Tuesday night.

Courtney Fells had 24 points to lead the Wolfpack (11-7, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who blew a 19-point lead early in the second half and a pair of leads late in regulation and the extra period before holding on to end a two-game losing streak. Brandon Costner added 21 points and Ben McCauley had 12.

Mays finished with six points, but the backup point guard came up with the game’s biggest play after starter Farnold Degand fouled out. With the clock winding down in a tie game, Mays pulled up over Brian Asbury and launched a three-pointer that looked desperate.

Instead the shot dropped through the net, forcing the Hurricanes (14-6, 3-4) to rely on a halfcourt heave from Lance Hurdle that hit the backboard and rim before falling away.

That sent the Wolfpack bench spilling onto the court to celebrate with Mays, who was mobbed briefly by teammates before skipping around to the roar of the home crowd.

It was the perfect finish to a wild game that saw the Wolfpack lead 44-25 early in the second half, 63-57 with about four minutes left in regulation and 81-78 with about 30 seconds left in overtime. Each time, Miami managed to rally and either tie or take the lead, the last time coming with Jack McClinton making three free throws after being fouled by Degand on a three with 24 seconds left.

The game also marked the second straight dramatic finish between the teams in Raleigh. Last year, the Wolfpack’s Gavin Grant stole an inbound pass and scored on a layup with 2.1 seconds left in a 79-77 overtime win.

McClinton had 27 points to lead the Hurricanes, while Dwayne Collins had 18 and Adrian Thomas added 14 – all in the second half.