Pittsburgh forward Cameron Corhen battles NC State forward Ven-Allen Lubin (22) for the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quadir Copeland had 24 points and eight assists, Ven-Allen Lubin added 18 points and No. 7 seed N.C. State beat 15th-seeded Pittsburgh 98-88 on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

N.C. State (20-12) advances to play No. 2 seed and 10th-ranked Virginia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

N.C. State led 51-50 at halftime as both teams shot over 60% from the field and had three players in double-figure scoring. The Wolfpack went 7 of 9 from 3-point range, while Pitt was 9 of 16.

N.C. State began the second half on a 12-2 run to extend its lead to 63-52 before Pitt made its first field goal at the 16:31 mark. Matt Able made the Wolfpack’s 11th 3-pointer — in just 15 attempts — for a 76-62 lead.

The officials upgraded to a flagrant-1 foul with 2:13 remaining after Lubin was pushed from behind on an alley-oop attempt. Lubin made both free throws to give N.C. State a 92-83 lead and Paul McNeil Jr. made it a four-point possession for an 11-point lead on an easy layup.

McNeil finished with 15 points, Tre Holloman had 14, and Darrion Williams and Able each scored 12 for N.C. State.

Cameron Corhen scored a career-high 27 points for Pittsburgh (13-20). Nojus Indrusaitis added a season-high 19 points and Omari Witherspoon also scored 19.

Pitt reached its season average for made 3-pointers in a game with 8:40 left in the first half when Indrusaitis made his third straight and the Panthers’ eighth in 12 attempts for a 34-25 lead.

PITTSBURGH (13-20): Corhen 9-12 9-11 27, Siulepa 1-3 5-6 7, Minor 1-3 0-0 3, Witherspoon 6-11 4-5 19, Dunning 4-10 0-0 11, Indrusaitis 6-9 2-3 19, Moore 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-49 20-25 88.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (20-12): Lubin 5-6 8-8 18, Williams 4-8 0-0 12, Copeland 7-10 10-12 24, Holloman 5-8 1-2 14, McNeil 4-6 4-5 15, Able 5-12 0-0 12, Arceneaux 1-1 0-0 3, Ebube 0-0 0-0 0, Sagnia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-51 23-27 98.

Halftime–NC State 51-50. 3-Point Goals–Pittsburgh 12-27 (Indrusaitis 5-8, Dunning 3-6, Witherspoon 3-7, Minor 1-3, Corhen 0-1, Siulepa 0-2), NC State 13-23 (Williams 4-5, Holloman 3-5, McNeil 3-5, Able 2-7, Arceneaux 1-1). Rebounds–Pittsburgh 21 (Corhen 7), NC State 20 (Lubin 5). Assists–Pittsburgh 15 (Indrusaitis 6), NC State 16 (Copeland 8). Total Fouls–Pittsburgh 17, NC State 21

Elsewhere:

– Ryan Conwell hit two key shots in the final 1:17 and finished with 16 points as No. 24 Louisville battled back to beat SMU 62-58 and advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals. Adrian Wooley added 14 points and Isaac McKneely had 10 for the Cardinals (23-9), who’ll face Miami today. Jarron Pierre Jr. had 17 points and Jaden Toombs added 13 points and nine rebounds for SMU (20-13), which led by six in the second half before Louisville stormed back behind three inside baskets from Vangelis Zougris. Louisville played without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who is out for the tournament with a back injury.

– No. 8 seed Florida State defeated No. 9 seed Cal, 95-89, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Seminoles were led by Robert McCray V who finished with 30 points and eight assists. It was the most scored by a Seminoles player ever in an ACC tournament game. Teammate Lajae Jones contributed 15 points. FSU’s 95 points was the most-ever scored by the Seminoles in the ACC Tournament as well. The Seminoles improved to 18-14 on the season. They have won four in a row, seven of their last eight, 10 of their last 12, and 11 of their past 14. Cal, which lost to the Seminoles for a second time this season, got 17 points from Dai Dai Ames anbd 15 points from Justin Pippen. The Bears, at 21-11, will now await word on their postseason destination. With the victory, Florida State advances to the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 1 seed Duke tonight. Duke beat FSU by four points earlier this season.