NC State men’s basketball took down Pittsburgh 79-76 in the Peterson Event Center, a venue at which NC State has never lost in, Saturday. The Wolfpack had lost its three previous games against Virginia, Virginia Tech and UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Wolfpack (17-7, 5-6 ACC) hit a season-high with 14 3-pointers shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc. Redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce and sophomore guard Braxton Beverly combined for 12 3s, five of which came in the second half, and put up 21 and 17 points, respectively. The Panthers (12-12, 2-9 ACC) were no slouch from beyond the arch with eight 3s of their own on the day.
Head coach Kevin Keatts was forced into an early sub with graduate center Wyatt Walker picking up two fouls within the first four minutes of the game. His replacement, redshirt sophomore center DJ Funderburk, made an instant impact by hitting a pair of free throws to give the Wolfpack its first lead of the night at 7-6.
The Wolfpack continued its recent trend of poor shooting during the first part of the game. After NC State jumped out to a six-point lead, Pitt fought back to tie the game at 14 apiece due to the Wolfpack’s horrid 29 percent shooting percentage through the opening nine minutes and change. By comparison, the Panthers were shooting 45 percent overall at that point and 75 percent from 3.
The two teams traded the lead for the remainder of the first half with the largest lead of that period being four points for the Wolfpack following a transition 3 from junior point guard Markell Johnson. There were six ties and five lead changes during the first half.
Funderburk slammed the ball home just before time expired in the first half to put the Wolfpack up 41-38. The lanky sophomore put up a team-high 10 points and five rebounds in the first half.
The Wolfpack cleaned up its shooting during the final 10 minutes of the first half finishing the half at 41 percent shooting from the field.
Redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn opened up the second half with a catch-and-shoot 3, one which Beverly followed up with a 3 of his own from nearly the exact same spot to open up the lead to seven for the Wolfpack.
Dorn and Beverly’s 3s on back-to-back Wolfpack possessions helped to start a 13-5 NC State run in the opening four minutes of the second half.
The Panthers were not down and out following the Wolfpack run, responding with an 18-2 run of their own to take their first lead of the second half.
The lead did not last long for Pitt; Dorn hit a 3 to restore a one-point Wolfpack lead, which Bryce added to with a 3 of his own to put the Pack up four.
While it was always close the Wolfpack remained in control for the rest of the game. Pitt did not lead for the remainder of the game but was never down by more than four points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Panthers made it close late, bringing the Wolfpack lead to just one with 16.5 seconds left. Bryce made his free throws count late and the Wolfpack won by a score of 79-76. The Panthers had an opportunity to tie the game with a buzzer beater but guard Sidy N’Dir missed the shot on the run.
Bryce finished the game with a team-high 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half.
NC State will look to build on its win in Pittsburgh with another against Syracuse on Wednesday at PNC Arena.
