NC State Wolfpack vs Penn St. Nittany Lions Match Player Stats On Dec 15, 2018

Reserve forward DJ Funderburk scored 10 of his 12 points after the game was tied as North Carolina State turned back Penn State for an 89-78 victory on Saturday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Braxton Beverly finished a season-high 18 points and Torin Dorn's 15 points helped the Wolfpack (9-1) pull away. Markell Johnson and C.J. Bryce both had 13 points and Wyatt Walker added nine points for NC State.

Beverly shot 7-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.

Rasir Bolton led Penn State (5-5) with 25 points, while Josh Reaves notched 12 of his 15 points in the first half. Lamar Stevens added 11 points and Mike Watkins had 10 points for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State pulled even at 58 on two free throws by Watkins with 11:47 left.

By then, NC State had two players with four fouls, but the Wolfpack responded to score 10 of the next 14 points, with Funderburk posting seven of those.

Funderburk, a transfer from Ohio State, didn't let up and his two free throws with 5:30 remaining produced the largest margin of the game to that point at 73-64.

Beverly scored the next six points in a 39-second span.

NC State led 40-37 at halftime, aided by 53.1-percent shooting from the field.

NC State is usually the team forcing turnovers, but the Wolfpack gave the ball away 10 times in the first half. That helped Penn State, despite shooting 1-for-5 on free throws and dealing with an 18-12 rebounding deficit, stay within range.

The Wolfpack has led at the half of every game this season. They finished with 17 turnovers.

The contest came a day after NC State announced a contract extension for second-year coach Kevin Keatts. The new deal runs through the 2023-24 season.

The game was part of the Air Force Reserve Boardwalk Classic. NC State won an 85-78 decision last year at home against Penn State as part of the ACC / Big Ten Challenge.

--Field Level Media