November 29, 2017
| PENN STATE at N.C. STATE |
|
|
85
|
78 |
|
1st Half |
2nd
Half |
Final |
| Penn State |
30 |
48 |
78 |
| N.C. State |
37 |
48 |
85 |
|
|
|
| STAT COMPARISON |
PSU |
NCS |
| Field Goal Pct. |
43.3 |
43.9 |
| Field Goals |
29-67 |
25-57 |
3-Point Field Goal Pct.
|
38.5 |
62.5 |
| 3-Point Field Goals |
5-13 |
10-16 |
| Free Throws |
15-23 |
25-37 |
| Rebounds |
43 |
35 |
| Assists |
12 |
14 |
| Turnovers |
18 |
14 |
| Steals |
8 |
6 |
| Blocks |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Final Stats
RALEIGH, N.C. - Down.To.The.Wire. Penn State matched N.C. State with 48 points in the second half, but the Wolfpack held onto its halftime lead for the 85-78 win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at PNC Arena Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions sliced the Wolfpack lead to three points with 1:49 left in the game, but the rally fell short in the final seconds.
Shooting 56.7 percent from the field in the second half, Penn State mounted its comeback on the strong second-half shooting of Tony Carr. Carr scored a game-high 29 points on a career-best 12 field goals and went 8-11 in the second period to spark the Nittany Lions' rally.
"I love the fight that this team has," said coach Patrick Chambers. "Our guys came back and cut it to three. We needed stops and we need to cover the glass. I thought they (N.C. State) got some timely rebounds. I thought we had a good game plan, we had to make adjustments at media timeouts and halftime. We have talented guys; we came in here and competed and got back in the game. We need to show a little bit more discipline and we need some leadership to step up."
Penn State cut into N.C. State's 13-point second-half lead with a 12-1 run with seven points coming from sophomore forward Lamar Stevens and five from Carr.
Stevens scored all 13 of his points in the second half and senior guard Shep Garner contributed 10 points to the final total.
N.C. State tied the game at 28 the 3:34 mark of the first half and went on a 9-2 run to take a 37-30 lead at the break. After Carr scored the opening basket of the second half, N.C. State built its lead to 46-34 with two quick three-pointers.
Forward Omer Yurtseven had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wolfpack and its four double-figure scorers. Mike Watkins had 14 rebounds as Penn State maintained a 43-25 advantage on the boards.
The Nittany Lions ran out to an 11-0 lead to start the game as N.C. State did not score its first point until more than three minutes into the game. The Wolfpack countered Penn State's start with four-straight three-pointers to pull within three midway through the half.
Penn State, now 6-2, outscored N.C. State 42-26 in the paint, but the Wolfpack bench contributed 39 points to the Nittany Lions' 9. The 10 three-pointers, five in each half by N.C. State tied PSU's opponent high for the year. Reaves, Wheeler and Carr all fouled out in the final minute while Dorn fouled out for the Wolfpack with 2:33 left in the game.
The Nittany Lions open conference play on the road at Iowa on Saturday, December 2 and then play host to Wisconsin in their Big Ten home opener on Monday, December 4. Tickets are available for the Penn State Big Ten opener on December 4 and all remaining home games. Visit gopsusports.com/tickets/m- baskbl -tickets.html for more information.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, liking the team's page on Facebook and following the team Instagram account at @PennStateMBB.
