National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Pittsburgh 81, NC State 73
When: 7:45 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2024
Where: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Jemel Spearman, # Jamie Luckie, # Courtney Green
Attendance: 10700

Carlton Carrington poured in 23 points as Pittsburgh completed its regular season with an 81-73 victory over visiting North Carolina State on Saturday night.

The Panthers (21-10, 12-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended the season on a three-game winning streak, allowing them to clinch a top-four seed in the conference for a double bye in next week's ACC tournament.

Blake Hinson added 21 points for Pitt, while Ishmael Leggett finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Jayden Taylor had a game-high 28 points and added seven boards for the Wolfpack (17-14, 9-11). DJ Burns Jr. had nine points and four rebounds.

After Taylor made a layup to put North Carolina State up 23-21 with 8:42 to go in the first half, the Panthers closed the period on an 18-6 run to take a 39-29 lead into the break.

That half-ending outburst included a 10-1 spurt that Burns put a stop to with a jumper with 4:40 to go. Federiko Federiko followed with a dunk, Carrington converted a layup and Hinson made a successful trip to the foul line to bump the Panthers' lead to 11 at 37-26.

Taylor's three-point play ahead of a Hinson jumper created the 10-point margin at intermission. With a windmill dunk, Zack Austin emphatically helped the Panthers go up by as many as 17 just under 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.

North Carolina State wouldn't come within single digits of Pitt until Taylor sank a pair of treys in a 30-second span, making it a six-point game, 70-64, with 4:41 to play. Taylor converted a pair of free throws at the 3:59 mark, then one more 1:33 later to make it 70-67.

Federiko stopped the bleeding with a layup, Carrington and Taylor traded threes and the Wolfpack regrouped with 59 seconds left. Out of that timeout, Guillermo Diaz Graham put down a dunk and added a free throw after being fouled to give Pitt a 78-70 advantage.

Carrington answered a Mohamed Diarra trey with two free throws, and Austin made another foul shot before the final buzzer.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NC State   Pittsburgh
Jayden Taylor 28 Scoring Carlton Carrington 23
D.J. Burns Jr. 4 Assists Carlton Carrington 6
Mohamed Diarra 9 Rebounds Federiko Federiko 9
Jayden Taylor 5 Free Throws Made Carlton Carrington 3
Jayden Taylor 2 Steals Zack Austin 2
Mohamed Diarra 1 Blocks Zack Austin 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
NC State 73 46.4 9-23 12-16 12 33 3 3 10
Pittsburgh 81 50.0 8-20 9-12 16 31 3 5 5