<p>DENTON, Texas — DJ Funderburk and Manny Bates combined for 35 points on 15-of-17 shooting and North Carolina State defeated Davidson 75-61 in a first round NIT game on Thursday night.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>N.C. State, which shot 36.2% in losing its last game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, shot 58.8(asterisk) for the game and with seven 3-pointers — in 17 attempts — matched Davidson. However, Davidson put up 24 shots from distance.</p>
<p>The Wolfpack shot 67% (18 of 27) to lead 40-32 at the break. </p>
<p>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.</p>
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