Wednesday, January 8
Raleigh, NC
7 PM
NC State
11-4,2-2ACC
73
vs
68
Notre Dame
10-5,1-3ACC
1
2
F
Notre Dame
39
29
68
NC State
34
39
73
Funderburk and Johnson Guide Pack to Comeback win over Notre Dame
1/8/2020 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Two players combined to score NC State’s final 15 points of the game
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State teammates D.J. Funderburk and Markell Johnson combined to score 43 points Wednesday evening as the two players led the Wolfpack to a 73-68 win over Notre Dame inside PNC Arena.
With the win, NC State improves to 11-4 (2-2 ACC), while Notre Dame falls to 10-5 (1-3 ACC).
Johnson tied his career-high with 27 points, finishing the game 9-of-15 from the floor. He added a game-high seven assists and a game-high three steals. Funderburk scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and tied his career-high with nine rebounds.
Funderburk and Johnson combined to score 21 of NC State's final 24 points of the game, including the last 15.
NC State trailed by five points at halftime, 39-34, and quickly fell behind by 11 points after the Fighting Irish scored on its first three possessions of the second half. Notre Dame took its largest lead of the game a few minutes later when Prentiss Hubb hit a lay-up to give the Irish a 51-39 lead with 15:20 to play.
The Pack only managed to shave three points off the deficit over the next five minutes as NC State trailed 58-49 with 10:30 to go.
From that point, NC State went on an 11-2 run, tying the game on two Funderburk free throws with 5:25 to play.
John Mooney and Johnson traded points for the next few minutes as Mooney scored three times down the floor to give Notre Dame the lead, but Johnson responded every time with points of his own to tie the game again.
The Pack took the lead, 68-66, on two Funderburk free throws with 1:37 to go. It was NC State's first lead of the game since it was 10-7.
Jericole Hellems stepped in front of a Notre Dame pass on the next possession to get the stop and Johnson hit a driving lay-up on the other end to give NC State a four-point lead with 53 seconds to go.
After two Notre Dame free throws cut the lead in half, Johnson knocked down two free throws of his own with 22 seconds to play to push the lead back to four. Notre Dame had two more opportunities to cut into the lead, but came up empty both times.
Manny Bates finished the game with six points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. Bates now has 48 blocked shots on the season and in just 15 games this season has set a program record for most blocked shots in a season.
Jericole Hellems (12) and Braxton Beverly (10) also reached double figures for NC State.
Notre Dame came into the game leading the NCAA in turnovers per game (9.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96). NC State forced the Fighting Irish into 14 turnovers and the Notre Dame finished with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio at 11 assists and 14 turnovers.
NC State is back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. when it plays at Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on RSN.
With the win, NC State improves to 11-4 (2-2 ACC), while Notre Dame falls to 10-5 (1-3 ACC).
Johnson tied his career-high with 27 points, finishing the game 9-of-15 from the floor. He added a game-high seven assists and a game-high three steals. Funderburk scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and tied his career-high with nine rebounds.
Funderburk and Johnson combined to score 21 of NC State's final 24 points of the game, including the last 15.
NC State trailed by five points at halftime, 39-34, and quickly fell behind by 11 points after the Fighting Irish scored on its first three possessions of the second half. Notre Dame took its largest lead of the game a few minutes later when Prentiss Hubb hit a lay-up to give the Irish a 51-39 lead with 15:20 to play.
The Pack only managed to shave three points off the deficit over the next five minutes as NC State trailed 58-49 with 10:30 to go.
From that point, NC State went on an 11-2 run, tying the game on two Funderburk free throws with 5:25 to play.
John Mooney and Johnson traded points for the next few minutes as Mooney scored three times down the floor to give Notre Dame the lead, but Johnson responded every time with points of his own to tie the game again.
The Pack took the lead, 68-66, on two Funderburk free throws with 1:37 to go. It was NC State's first lead of the game since it was 10-7.
Jericole Hellems stepped in front of a Notre Dame pass on the next possession to get the stop and Johnson hit a driving lay-up on the other end to give NC State a four-point lead with 53 seconds to go.
After two Notre Dame free throws cut the lead in half, Johnson knocked down two free throws of his own with 22 seconds to play to push the lead back to four. Notre Dame had two more opportunities to cut into the lead, but came up empty both times.
Manny Bates finished the game with six points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. Bates now has 48 blocked shots on the season and in just 15 games this season has set a program record for most blocked shots in a season.
Jericole Hellems (12) and Braxton Beverly (10) also reached double figures for NC State.
Notre Dame came into the game leading the NCAA in turnovers per game (9.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96). NC State forced the Fighting Irish into 14 turnovers and the Notre Dame finished with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio at 11 assists and 14 turnovers.
NC State is back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. when it plays at Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on RSN.
Team Stats
ND
NCSU
FG%
.474
.413
3FG%
.333
.296
FT%
.800
.765
RB
36
34
TO
14
8
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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