RALEIGH, N.C. – Hunter Cattoor scored 19 points, Sean Pedulla had 13 points and eight assists, and Virginia Tech defeated North Carolina State 84-78 on Saturday.
A 3-pointer by Pedulla gave Virginia Tech a 56-54 lead with seven minutes left in the second half. It was the last of 15 lead changes and came near the middle of a stretch in which the Hokies made eight shots in a row, the last two being a pair of 3-pointers by Cattoor that gave the Hokies a 70-58 lead.
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A layup by Mohamed Diarra got the Wolfpack within 75-69 with 1:37 remaining, but Virginia Tech made 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to wrap up the win.
Cattoor made three 3-pointers and 4 of 8 shots overall to go with 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Lynn Kidd had 14 points, Tyler Nickel 12 and Robbie Beran 11 for the Hokies (11-7, 3-4 ACC). Virginia Tech shot 53% and made 23 of 28 free throws. Pedulla committed eight of the Hokies’ 20 turnovers.
NC State (13-5, 5-2), which had been off to its best start in league play since the 1988-89 season, got 19 points from Casey Morsell, 16 from DJ Horne and 15 from Jayden Taylor. Morsell made 9 of 10 free throws and Taylor was 7 for 8 from the line. The Wolfpack made 20 of 24 free throws.
There were nine lead changes in the first half. The Wolfpack scored the game’s first six points for their biggest lead of the half and Virginia Tech had an 8-0 to take its biggest lead, 23-16 with a little under eight minutes remaining. The Wolfpack trailed for all but one possession from that point of the half forward but a 3-pointer by Breon Pass with four seconds left got them within 33-32 at halftime.
Virginia Tech hosts Boston College on Tuesday. NC State is at Virginia on Wednesday.