Omer Yurtseven scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and completed a double-double with 11 rebounds as North Carolina State defeated Penn State 85-78 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.

North Carolina State (6-2) needed a strong game from Yurtseven and three others who finished in double figures because Tony Carr scored a game-high 29 points for Penn State (6-2).

Carr scored 20 of his points in the second half, but the Nittany Lions couldn't overtake the Wolfpack.

Yurtseven, a 7-foot center from Turkey, was nearly perfect from the field. He made 6 of 7 shots overall. In addition, Yurtseven sank all three 3-pointers he took plus all four free throws.

Allerik Freeman added 17 for North Carolina State in the victory.

Carr finished 12-for-25 from the field and carried Penn State at times.

The Nittany Lions started quickly, jumping to an 11-0 lead in the game's early minutes before the Wolfpack offense slowly awakened.

North Carolina State did not score a point until Freeman made a jumper 5:23 into the game. The Wolfpack then pulled even at 28 later in the first half and jumped to a 37-30 halftime lead.

The home team appeared to be on the verge of pulling away at times in the second half, pushing ahead by 12 points with just over six minutes left.

Penn State rallied and cut the deficit to 79-76 late, but North Carolina State scored six of the game's last eight points.