Ryan McMahon sizzled from the perimeter on the way to 23 points as sixth-ranked Louisville defeated host North Carolina State 77-57 on Saturday afternoon at Raleigh, N.C.

Louisville (19-3, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued its best league start as a member of the ACC.

Jordan Nwora's 14 points and nine rebounds and Lamarr Kimble's 10 points also lifted first-place Louisville, which shot 50.9 percent from the field and has won eight games in a row.

McMahon, a senior reserve, was 6-for-6 on 3-pointers as the Cardinals built a 31-21 lead in the first half. At that point, everyone else in the game combined for 1-for-10 shooting on 3s. He had reached a career-high for 3s with six in the first 17 minutes, finishing 7-for-10 on 3-pointers.

C.J. Bryce tallied 15 points, Devon Daniels had 12 points and DJ Funderburk added 11 points for NC State (14-8, 5-6), which has lost three in a row since a three-game winning streak. This is only the Wolfpack's second three-game skid in three seasons under coach Kevin Keatts.

NC State, which failed to exceed 65 points for the fifth game in a row, trimmed a 17-point hole to 43-34 with an 8-0 run early in the second half. Kimble answered with a 3-pointer.

Bryce's four-point play made it 48-43. The margin rose to 11 and dipped to four in the next few minutes before the Cardinals went up 70-55.

The Cardinals held a 41-26 halftime lead. McMahon missed a deep 3 on the final shot of the first half.

Louisville was charged with 10 fouls less than 10 1/2 minutes into the game. NC State led a couple of minutes later when Bryce, who had been scoreless the previous two games, hit a jumper for his first points.

Louisville had 11 first-half turnovers, but NC State didn't take advantage with 29.6-percent shooting from the field. The Wolfpack finished at 32.8.

NC State reserve forward Pat Andree returned after a two-game absence with an ankle injury. He was scoreless in six minutes.

The Wolfpack dropped to 2-2 under Keatts in home games against Top 10 foes.

--Field Level Media