Wolfpack, Yurtseven fight off Nittany Lions 85-78 (w/ Box Score)

Omer Yurtseven had a career day and the Wolfpack broke out of their shooting funk as they downed Penn State 85-78 in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.

NC State shot 44% from the floor and 63% from beyond the arc in this one. That is a far cry from the ice-cold shooting we saw in the last two games. The state lines might lend a little credence to the theory that the Wolfpack’s shooting woes are a product of their rigorous early-season schedule.

Omer Yurtseven finished with a team-high 19 points (6-7 from the floor, 3-3 from beyond the arc), Al Freeman went for 17, Sam Hunt went for 14 (4-5 from 3pt range), and Lennard Freeman pitched in 10 ,

The story of this game was the play of sophomore big man Omer Yurtseven. He coupled his 19 points with 11 boards and really was the deciding factor.

After a lost year last season, and a slow start this year, Yurt has finally started to show the reason he was billed a sure-fire NBA prospect when he came over from Turkey. Part of it is his increased confidence, but the other part of it is that NC State has finally started to learn how to use him.

As an agile 7 footer with good hands and good footwork, you’d think he’d be a monster with his back to the basket. At this point, that’s not the case. But put him in a pick and pop situation, or let him face you up and all of the sudden Yurtseven is nearly unstoppable. The Penn State bigs were forced to choose. Sink down to stop the drive, or follow Yurt to the top of the key. They chose to sink and they paid.

It wasn’t just Yurtseven draining shots in this one, Sam Hunt sparked the Pack early on after they came out flat and went down 11-0 and freshman Lavar Batts also unexpectedly knocked down two 3s.

The Pack did lose the battle of the boards 43-35, but they won the turnover battle, forcing 18 and only committing 14.

At the end of the day, this was a quality win for Keatts and company. Penn State will be a middle of the pack Big Ten team this year and could make a run at the tournament.

Next up is South Carolina State on Saturday.