PITTSBURGH, PA. – The NC State men’s basketball team hit a season-high 14 three-pointers to defeat Pitt, 79-76, inside the Petersen Events Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, NC State improves to 17-7, 5-6 ACC, while Pitt falls to 12-12, 2-9 ACC.
CJ Bryce led five NC State players in double figures with a game-high 21 points. The Charlotte native finished the game 6-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range in the win.
Braxton Beverly added 17 points, while making five three-pointers. Torin Dorn had 13 points, 11 in the second half, DJ Funderburk had 12 points off-the-bench and Markell Johnson finished with 10 points and a season-best eight assists.
NC State’s 14 three-pointers were a season-best and its three-point field goal percentage of 51.9 percent (14-of-27) was also the best of the season.
The Pack led 41-38 at halftime and opened the second half on a 16-5 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 14 points, 57-43, with 15:44 to play.
Dorn opened the second half with a three-pointer, Beverly hit one on the Pack’s next possession and Bryce followed with a jumper on NC State’s third possession to force a Pitt timeout one minute and 29 seconds into the final period.
After a free throw and bucket by Pitt, the Pack scored the next eight points to appear to break the game open.
But the Panthers would not go quietly as Pitt responded to Pack’s 16-5 blitz with an 18-2 run to take its only lead of the second half on a Jared Wilson-Frame three-pointer with 11:09 to go.
NC State responded with back-to-back three-pointers as Dorn and Bryce connected on consecutive possessions to give NC State a 65-61 lead with 9:56 to go.
Pitt would battle back to tie the game at 70 and 72, but Johnson scored his first points of the second half on a three-pointer out of the final media timeout to give NC State a lead it would not relinquish, 75-72, with 3:21 to go.
Johnson’s bucket proved to be the final field goal of the game.
Pitt closed within one point on two Xavier Johnson free throws with 17 seconds to go, but Bryce hit both ends of a one-and-one with 9.9 seconds to play to push the Pack’s lead back out to three.
The Panthers hit one of two free throws with six seconds to go to cut the lead to two, but Bryce rebounded Pitt’s missed free throw and hit one free throw to close the scoring.
Johnson led five Pitt players in double figures with 17 points.
NC State returns to action Wednesday inside PNC Arena when it hosts Syracuse (17-7, 8-3 ACC). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 pm and the game will be televised on Raycom Networks.
