PITTSBURGH — NC State produced a late 13-point run while holding Pittsburgh scoreless for almost six minutes down the stretch, and the Wolfpack pulled out a 72-68 victory Wednesday night at Petersen Events Center.
Omer Yurtseven’s 16 points, Allerik Freeman’s 13 points and Torin Dorn’s 12 points along with two late 3-point baskets from Braxton Beverly were keys for State (14-7, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Wolfpack won for the first time in four road games this season.
Jared Wilson-Frame’s 22 points paced Pittsburgh (8-13, 0-8). Shamiel Stevenson scored 11 points for the Panthers, and Khameron Davis and Marcus Carr both had nine points.
NC State made a move when Dorn scored six consecutive points in less than a minute to trim the deficit to 62-57 with 7:45 to play.
Pittsburgh’s lead went back to 11 points, but Beverly and Freeman drained consecutive 3-pointers to close the gap to 66-65 with 3:47 left.
Two possessions later, Beverly’s trey gave the Wolfpack their first lead since the opening minutes. Beverly was 1-for-11 from long range before his two late-game 3-pointers.
The Wolfpack ended up 9-for-35 on 3-point attempts while Pittsburgh was 8-for-29.
Beverly and reserve Sam Hunt both had three 3-pointers — on a combined 26 attempts — for State, and they finished with nine points apiece.
Pittsburgh had a nine-point lead before their scoring drought that lasted 5:42. The Panthers missed six shots in a row during a stretch that also included three of their 14 turnovers.
Earlier, Pittsburgh surged to a 29-23 lead on the strength of 7-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. The Panthers extended the lead to 43-28 before the Wolfpack scored the last five points of the half.
Pittsburgh held a second-half lead for the first time in ACC play this season.
Yurtseven, who averaged more than 20 points per game in the previous five outings, sat out for a stretch in the first half after picking up two fouls. He went 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 on free throws before halftime. Yurtseven wound up 6-for-7 on field-goal attempts, and he didn’t have a foul shot after the break.
NC State’s starting backcourt was a combined 4-for-18 from the field in the first half, while Freeman, a reserve guard, was 1-for-11 by the break.
