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Nijel Pack, No. 12 Miami beat K-State to win Baha Mar tourney
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Nijel Pack burned his former school by scoring 20 of his game-high-tying 28 points in the first half to lead No. 12 Miami past Kansas State 91-83 to win the Baha Mar Hoops Championship on Sunday afternoon in Nassau, Bahamas.

Pack, who was a first-team All-Big 12 player at Kansas State before transferring to Miami last season, made 9 of 16 shots from the floor, including 7 of 12 3-pointers.

With the victory, the Hurricanes (5-0) won the four-team Baha Mar championship. They defeated Georgia in the first round.

Kansas State (3-2), which advanced to the Elite Eight of last season's NCAA Tournament, had its three-game win streak broken. Cam Carter led the Wildcats with 28 points on 12-for-22 shooting.

Miami, which advanced to the Final Four last season, also got 23 points and a team-high seven rebounds from Norchad Omier; 15 points each from Matthew Cleveland and Wooga Poplar; and a game-high seven assists from Bensley Joseph.

Wildcats guard Tylor Perry, who entered the game averaging a team-high 21.5 points, was held in check. He scored 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting overall, including 1-for-9 on 3-pointers. Miami limited his free throws to just one on a technical foul with 20 seconds left, and Omier, who is 50 pounds heavier, leveled Perry with a legal pick late in the second half.

Arthur Kaluma had a double-double for Kansas State, scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

Kansas State's Darrin Ames missed the game due to a suspension following his fight with Providence's Garwey Dual in Friday's opening-round game.

The Hurricanes led 47-28 at halftime as Kansas State missed its first 11 3-point tries. The Wildcats finished the first half shooting just 1-for-15 from deep.

Miami's first-half performance included 58.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 9-of-16 on 3-pointers (56.3 percent). Pack shot 6-of-10 from long range in the half, and he got support from Omier (11 points) and Poplar (10 points).

In the second half, Miami stretched its lead to 24 points. Kansas State cut its deficit to 85-78 with 45 seconds left, but Miami held on from there.

For the game, Kansas State had a 14-5 edge on offensive rebounds, but the Wildcats shot just 4-for-28 on 3-pointers (14.3 percent). Miami shot 53.3 percent from the floor, including 12-for-24 on 3-pointers.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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