N.C. State wins opener
Wolfpack gets 35 from Funderburk, Bates to advance in tournament
DJ Funderburk and Manny Bates combined for 35 points on 15-for-17 shooting and North Carolina State defeated Davidson 75-61 in a first-round NIT game on Thursday night.
Funderburk matched his season high with 21 points, hitting 8 of 10 shots and grabbing seven rebounds. Bates went 7-for-7 for 14 points and had seven rebounds.
Jericole Hellems added 13 points for the Wolfpack (14-10), who improved to 11-2 in the first round of their 13 NIT appearances. They will face in the winner of Friday’s game between Buffalo and Colorado State in the second round next Thursday.
Luka Brajkovic scored 15 points for the Wildcats (13-9), who are now 3-9 in nine NITS. Hyunjung Lee added 13 points, Kellan Graby 12 to surpass 2,000 for his career, and Michael Jones 11.
N.C. State, which shot 36.2
percent in losing its last game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, shot 58.8 percent for the game and with seven 3-pointers — in 17 attempts — matched Davidson. However, Davidson put up 24 shots from distance.
The Wolfpack shot 67 percent (18-for-27) to lead 40-32 at the break.
The tournament, limited to 16 teams instead of 32 this season,
is taking place in the Dallas-fort Worth metro area at the University of North Texas Coliseum in Denton and at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
Boise State 84, SMU 84: Devonaire Doutrive scored on a putback with 10.1 seconds to play and Boise State defeated SMU in a first-round game of NIT. Mladen Armus, who made the play to keep the ball alive for Doutrive, also made the defensive play on the other end that forced a turnover.