ACC Hoops: Wolfpack take down Panthers, 71-63 

March 5, 2025 

Raleigh, NC- NC State won their first of two must win games over the Pittsburgh Panthers 71-63 on Wednesday night at the Lenovo Center. 

Michael O’Connell scored 15 points and Dontrez Styles posted a double-double and N.C. State maintained hopes of playing in the ACC Tournament beating Pittsburgh 71-63 on Wednesday night. 

Breon Pass scored 14 points, Styles scored 13 and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds, Ben Middlebrooks scored 11 points and Marcus Hill had 10. Styles also grabbed 13 boards on Jan. 6, 2024 against DePaul. 

For Pittsburgh Jaland Lowe scored 20 points with seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Cameron Cohren had 13 and Ishmael Leggett had 12 for Pitt. Jeff Capel’s team continues to struggle to guard any opponent on the 3-point line as NC State made 7-of-15 shots beyond the arc in the first half. The Wolfpack have made an average of 6.6 3-pointers per game this season — ranking 16th in the ACC coming into Wednesday. Much like most of this season, the Panthers did just enough throughout the evening to keep the game within an arm’s length, but not enough to secure a win. 

N.C. State (12-18, 5-14) is trying to play its way into the 15-team tournament and currently resides in 16th place in the 18-team league. The Panthers (16-14, 7-12) are fighting for a spot in the top nine in search of a first-round bye. 

The Wolfpack led 34-30 at intermission and extended their lead to 46-35 with a layup from Hill with 14:48 remaining. But after failing to score for more than three minutes, the Panthers got back in it with a 7-0 run. Cohren made two foul shots with 11:43 to go to reduce the deficit to 46-42. Lowe recorded a three-point play with 4:56 left to cut Pitt’s deficit to 55-54 but the Panthers failed to get closer. 

Takeaways:

Breon Pass 

After four years and 115 games with the Wolfpack, the only player on the roster that can say that, Breon Pass finally got his first start on Senior Night. The Reidsville native made the most of his opportunity, hitting the first shot of the game on a 3-pointer. 

In the second half, Pass opened the scoring once again with another triple to push the lead to four points and tie his ACC-high 12 points at that point. 

Seniors Step Up 

In his final game, Dontrez Styles posted his third double-double of the season Styles got an early 3-pointer to get his night started, but was held scoreless the rest of the first half. But it wasn’t just Pass and Styles that got the Pack going on Senior Night. Three other Wolfpack seniors had double-figure scoring nights with Michael O’Connell, Ben Middlebrooks, and Marcus Hill having strong outings. By the end of the game, all 71 of the points came from the seniors. 

Will the Pack Stay Alive? 

State desperately needs another win at Miami on Saturday and two losses by Notre Dame vs Stanford and Cal this week to make the ACC Tournament. 

Both teams end their regular seasons on Saturday. Pitt hosts Boston College and the Wolfpack travels to Miami.