N.C. State uses balanced attack to keep ACC tourney hopes alive, beating Pitt 71-63

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Michael O’Connell scored 15 points and Dontrez Styles posted a double-double and N.C. State maintained hopes of playing in the ACC Tournament beating Pittsburgh 71-63 on Wednesday night.

Breon Pass scored 14 points, Styles scored 13 and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds, Ben Middlebrooks scored 11 points and reserve Marcus Hill 10. Styles also grabbed 13 boards on Jan. 6, 2024 against DePaul.

Jaland Lowe scored 20 points, Cameron Cohren 13 and Ishmael Leggett 12 for Pitt.

N.C. State (12-18, 5-14) is trying to play its way into the 15-team tournament and currently resides in 16th place in the 18-team league. The Panthers (16-14, 7-12) are fighting for a spot in the top nine in search of a first-round bye.

The Wolfpack led 34-30 at intermission and extended their lead to 46-35 with a layup from Hill with 14:48 remaining. But after failing to score for more than three minutes, the Panthers got back in it with a 7-0 run. Cohren made two foul shots with 11:43 to go to reduce the deficit to 46-42.

Lowe recorded a three-point play with 4:56 left to cut Pitt’s deficit to 55-54 but the Panthers failed to get closer.

Both teams end their regular seasons on Saturday. Pitt hosts Boston College and the Wolfpack travels to Miami.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball