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BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A.D. Vassallo made four free throws in the final 16.4 seconds of overtime Sunday to seal Virginia Tech's 91-87 win over N.C. State.

The Hokies (15-7, 5-3 ACC) rallied from a late 18-point deficit, which put an end to their six-game losing streak against the Wolfpack (12-9, 2-6). They also moved to 9-1 in ACC overtime games all-time.

"Everyone asks, 'Do they (N.C. State) have your number?' " Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "No, but there are certain match-ups that are tougher for us. There are certain match-ups that we have to make decisions on that are tough for us when we have to play them."

Senior center Ben McCauley led the Wolfpack with 25 points and 15 rebounds, and made 13 of 15 free throws. His final total was one point short of his career high.

"I know this, I'm going to that guy's graduation," Greenberg joked of McCauley. "He might even get a present from me."

Virginia Tech used strong defense in the final 10 minutes of the second half, rallying to tie the game at 76 on a short jumper by Vassallo over N.C. State's Courtney Fells.

"It was similar to the shot against UVA," Vassallo said of his game-winner against the Cavaliers. "Coach told me to take my time and make a play. (Fells) gave me my left, so I went to my left and pulled up and made a shot."

Greenberg knew whose hands he wanted on the ball for the game-tying shot.

"We knew coming out of that timeout that we were going to go to A.D.," Greenberg said. "And he delivered once again."

The Wolfpack called a timeout to set up a final play, but McCauley lost the ball going up for a contested shot in the post -- one of 22 N.C. State turnovers to 14 for Virginia Tech -- and Vassallo came up with the ball after a wild scramble. Virginia Tech then called timeout with less than one second left, but turned the ball over and sent the game into overtime.

The Hokies held the Wolfpack to one field goal in the final 9:51 -- although McCauley scored eight points at the line -- and closed regulation with a 21-10 run.

In overtime, Vassallo and Terrell Bell hit baskets on back-to-back possessions to enable the Hokies to open a four-point lead.

Virginia Tech never trailed again.

Vassallo's free throws with 16.4 seconds left gave the Hokies an 89-84 lead. N.C. State guard Javier Gonzalez cut the lead to two points with a 3-pointer, but Vassallo hit two more free throws with 8.7 seconds left to give Virginia Tech a four-point lead and ice the win.

"It feels great," Vassallo, a senior, said of beating N.C. State. "At least now I can say that we've beaten everyone since I've been here. But it's not just that. We're now 5-3 and in third in the ACC. That makes it even better."

Vassallo led the Hokies with 24 points, Jeff Allen added 21 and Malcolm Delaney finished with 18. J.T. Thompson scored 12 off the bench.

Vassallo made 10 of 17 from the floor.

The Hokies made 19 of their final 34 attempts from the floor, and shot 47.1 percent for the game.

The game marked Virginia Tech's biggest comeback in an ACC game since joining the league in 2004.

"This is life in the ACC," Greenberg said. "There is no quit in anyone. You have to put your arms around a game and finish it, and that's what we did today. I thought our resiliency was pretty special."

N.C. STATE (12-9, 2-6)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pts

TSmith 22 5-5 3-5 1-2 1 0 13

Costner 35 4-9 4-5 2-5 1 5 13

McCauley 41 6-12 13-15 3-15 2 3 25

Fells 41 5-11 6-6 2-7 2 3 17

Gonzalez 36 3-9 1-4 0-0 6 3 9

Williams 12 1-2 1-2 0-1 0 2 3

Mays 9 0-2 0-0 0-1 3 3 0

Horner 29 3-5 0-2 0-2 0 4 7

Totals 225 27-55 28-39 11-40 15 23 87

Percentages: FG .491, FT .718.

3-point goals: 5-17, .294 (Gonzalez 2-6, Costner 1-2, Horner 1-2, Fells 1-4, Williams 0-1, Mays 0-2).

Team rebounds: 7.

Blocked shots: 5 (Costner, Fells, Williams, Horner, McCauley).

Turnovers: 22 (Costner 5, Gonzalez 5, Fells 3, McCauley 3, Mays 3, Williams, T.Smith, Horner).

Steals: 6 (Fells 2, Horner 2, Gonzalez, Williams).

Technical fouls: None.

VIRGINIA TECH (15-7, 5-3)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pts

Allen 34 8-13 4-8 3-8 1 5 21

Vassallo 43 10-17 4-4 1-7 2 3 24

Diakite 17 1-2 0-0 2-3 0 5 2

Hudson 15 2-4 3-4 0-1 1 1 8

Delaney 43 3-12 11-11 2-2 4 4 18

Bell 25 2-7 0-0 2-6 3 2 4

Thorns 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Davila 6 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2

Witcher 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0

Thompson 29 5-10 2-3 0-3 0 4 12

Totals 225 32-68 24-30 11-34 12 27 91

Percentages: FG .471, FT .800.

3-point goals: 3-13, .231 (Allen 1-2, Delaney 1-2, Hudson 1-3, Thorns 0-1, Bell 0-2, Vassallo 0-3).

Team rebounds: 3.

Blocked shots: 7 (Allen 2, Vassallo 2, Hudson, Bell, Diakite).

Turnovers: 14 (Delaney 5, Allen 4, Hudson 2, Thompson 2, Vassallo).

Steals: 12 (Thompson 3, Allen 3, Bell 2, Thorns, Delaney, Diakite, Vassallo).

Technical fouls: Bench.

N.C. State 49 27 11 -- 87

Virginia Tech 35 41 15 -- 91

Officials--Jamie Luckie, John Cahill, Raymond Tyons.

A--9,847.