NC State has had its struggles closing out games this season, but that wasn’t the case Wednesday night.

Despite being handed a number of opportunities to hang its head, the Wolfpack (9-9, 5-8 ACC) found a way to win 74-73 in a down to the wire road contest against Pittsburgh (9-8, 5-7 ACC).

The Pack led for over 36 minutes in the Petersen Events Complex, but the Panthers clawed their way back to take a two-point lead with 1:49 remaining.

NC State responded with a 5-0 run of its own to reclaim the lead and held on for its second-straight road victory in conference play.

“I think our guys took a big step forward,” Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts said. “We didn't do everything right. There's a bunch of plays that I look back and say, 'I wish we could have done something different.' But at the end of the day, I'm proud of our guys. It's tough to win on the road, even without fans.

“If you do the research, it's still tough to win on the road. This is a great road win for us. This is a good team. They've beaten a lot of teams on this floor. For us to come in and get out of here with a win, I'm happy with that.”

What made the effort even more impressive was that the Pack had to close the game without junior forward Jericole Hellems, who led the team with 17 points but fouled out with 3:25 remaining.

Hellems’ fifth foul sent Pittsburgh guard Xavier Johnson to the line, where he made two shots to give the Panthers a 68-67 lead.

NC State held Pitt to just one field goal from that point on, and the Pack made all three of its free-throw attempts in the closing stretch.

“It was going to be a toughness game,” Keatts said. “It was a game of who wanted it the most. Not that those guys didn't want it, but both teams came off of losing two in a row. We needed a good win to make us feel better, and obviously got a road win, so I'm excited that we finished the game the way we did.”

NC State shot a season-best 57 percent from the field Wednesday night. The key? Ball movement.

The Wolfpack tied its season-best in conference play with 19 assists against the Panthers, and it came from some unlikely places.

Three Pack players finished the night with a career-high assist total.

Freshman guard Cam Hayes led the team with nine assists, while freshman guard Shakeel Moore dished out six and redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates added three of his own, all of which marking individual career-highs.

Even fifth-year senior DJ Funderburk, who entered the contest with just one assist this season, claimed his second of the year in the win.

Of equal importance, NC State was able to limit its turnovers, which was a priority entering the matchup considering the Pack turned the ball over a combined 38 times in its last two games, both of which resulted in losses.

The Wolfpack and Pittsburgh each committed 14 turnovers, but State was able to outscore the Panthers 21-16 off of those takeaways.

“I'm not going to say it was necessarily the best ball movement [of the season],” Keatts said. “We've certainly had games where we moved the ball pretty well. It may be the best results that we got, meaning guys making shots off of the passes. We talked about this with the guys.

“We also talked about winning the turnover battle. I went into this game saying, 'Give me 12 or less.' I think we turned it over 14 times, but we had 19 assists. We cleaned up a couple of things, and I thought we got better. Our ball movement has been pretty good the last couple of times, we just haven't scored off on it.”

NC State’s freshman guards were already thrown into the fire of ACC play this season considering the limited offseason and non-conference slate due to the pandemic. When fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels suffered a season-ending ACL tear in late January, those flames became even hotter.

The Wolfpack has struggled to get consistent production from its young backcourt ever since. To make matters even worse, the Pack’s remaining veteran guards have been beaten up in the aftermath.

Redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen was unavailable Wednesday with an ankle sprain, and while senior guard Braxton Beverly was able against Pittsburgh, he hadn’t been able to practice since sitting out the second half of the Duke loss Saturday with a hip injury.

The freshman guards will be tested the rest of the way in the 2020-21 campaign, but they certainly passed it against the Panthers.

“I'm proud of our young dudes,” Keatts said. “I thought they grew up today.”

Hayes had his strongest performance in ACC play so far, scoring 11 points and adding a career-high nine assists along with a team-high three steals and one rebound.

Moore had a quiet two points but also recorded a career-high six assists along with five rebounds and two steals.

“They showed what their potential is and what they're capable of doing anytime they step on the court,” Beverly said. “It's been a crazy year, especially for freshmen around the country, especially at this level. It's hard to jump right into conference play against this kind of talent every night and not expect to have rough games or hit the freshman walls.

"In the past, freshmen got to do that early on in the non-conference schedule. I'm really proud of both of them tonight. They stepped up and played really well. The work they're putting in is starting to show.”

Redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and reeled in two rebounds in a career-high 30 minutes.

Collectively, the three freshman guards accounted for 15 assists and seven turnovers.

“Any positive sign that you see of this team, it's a sign of growth,” Keatts said. “I mean that in a very positive way. We're getting some guys who are completely learning on the job, and they're getting better. And I'm tough on them. I'm not going to give them a pass because they're freshmen.

"I'm coaching them as though they were upperclassmen and trying to teach them. I just want them to limit their mistakes. But I do think our guys took a big step forward.”

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