NC State holds on to defeat Pitt 74-73

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The NC State men’s basketball team scored five of the final seven points of the game to defeat Pitt, 74-73, inside the Petersen Events Center Wednesday evening.

With the win, NC State improves to 9-9, 5-8 in the ACC, while Pitt falls to 9-8, 5-7 in the ACC.

The Pack led 67-61 with 5:04 left in the game after a thunderous Manny Bates dunk, but Pitt responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes, taking the lead on two Xavier Johnson free throws with 3:25 to play.

Bates put the Pack back in front with a hook shot in the lane, but Pitt scored three points on its next two possessions to take a 71-69 lead with 1:49 to go.

NC State immediately responded as Shakeel Moore found a streaking D.J. Funderburk down the court and Funderburk laid the ball in as he was fouled. The senior hit the ensuing free throw to put the Pack back in front 72-71 with 1:41 to go.

Both teams came up empty on their next possessions and the Pack forced a Pitt turnover with 35 seconds to go to get the ball back. Cam Hayes was fouled with 22 seconds to go and the freshman calmly made both free throws to give NC State a 74-71 advantage.

Pitt cut into the lead with two Justin Champagnie free throws and forced an NC State turnover to get the ball back down one with nine seconds remaining, but NC State got the stop to snap its three-game losing streak.

Junior forward Jericole Hellems led the Pack with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Funderburk recorded 16 points and eight rebounds.

Beverly added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Hayes also reached double figures with 11 points and a career-high nine assists.

Freshman guard Shakeel Moore also registered a career-high with six assists.

The Pack led by as many as 10 points in the first half and for over 36 minutes in the game.

Champagnie led the Panthers with 18 points and 10 rebounds while junior guard/forward Au’diese Toney recorded 17 points and 5 rebounds. Johnson also reached double figures for the Panthers with 14 points.

NC State will head to Winston-Salem Saturday to take on Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be televised in North Carolina on Fox Sports South.