NC State Basketball holds on to beat Penn State

NC State Basketball relied on a three-point barrage from their bench to beat Penn State on Day 3 of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The NC State basketball bench led the way on Wednesday night in the Wolfpack’s 85-78 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The three reserves made nine of the 10 NC State three-pointers in the game. Omer Yurtseven led the Wolfpack in scoring. The seven-foot sophomore recorded his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Yurtseven was 3-of-3 from three-point range. Guard Sam Hunt scored 14 points while making 4-of-5 threes. Lavar Batts Jr. made both of the threes he attempted.

Allerik Freeman, who is the Wolfpack’s leading scorer of the year, and Lennard Freeman both finished in double figures as starters with 17 and 10 points respectively.  Guard Torin Dorn fouled out after grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds, his season high.

Penn State (6-2) cut the lead to three at 79-76 with 43 seconds to go. However, Markell Johnson and Braxton Beverly each made three free throws in the final 41 seconds to secure the Wolfpack victory. For the game, NC State made more free throws (25-of-37) than Penn State attempted (15-of-23).

Penn State’s Tony Carr is averaging 21.3 points per game. He led the Nittany Lions once again on the scoresheet with 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting. The sophomore guard also grabbed seven rebounds. Shep Garner and Lamar Stevens also finished in double figures for Penn State.  Sophomore forward Mike Watkins had a game-high 14 rebounds, which ties his previous season-high against Columbia.

What’s Next

NC State Basketball (6-2) is next in action on Saturday, Dec. 2 against the South Carolina State Bulldogs (1-6) of the MEAC. The Bulldogs’ lone win came in their last game against Morris College, an NAIA school.

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Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET at PNC Arena.