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WINSTON-SALEM — They were just six points in a game of 126, three little baskets in a game of 47.

Yet they were everything, a game in microcosm. Six straight points — a short jumper, a putback and a dunk — that summed up the ACC opener between N.C. State (8-2, 0-1) and Wake Forest (8-2, 1-0).

Al-Farouq Aminu — who had the dunk in that stretch — finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Ish Smith drove the lane at will on his way to 10 points and seven assists as Wake beat N.C. State 67-59 in a ragged game Sunday night at the Joel Coliseum.

“It’s not going to always be pretty,” Smith said. “This is a rivalry game. N.C. State versus Wake, and this is the 230th game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it’s always good to get an ACC win and go into Christmas break with a little bit of momentum. Now this is where it really gets fun.”

It wasn’t always fun to watch.

The teams combined for 12 more turnovers than assists, 19 missed free throws and 23 missed 3-pointers.

N.C. State’s best player, power forward Tracy Smith, fouled out on a double-team 30 feet from the basket. Wake’s best, Aminu, had three fouls at halftime and flirted with a dubious triple-double with seven turnovers to go along with his points and rebounds.

“We did enough things to win the basketball game, especially on the defensive end of the floor,” Wake coach Dino Gaudio said. “We didn’t shoot free throws well. We didn’t shoot from behind the 3-point line well. But any win in this league is a good win.”

Wake won this one with six straight points over 1 minute and 41 seconds midway through the second half.

N.C. State cut an 11-point lead down to 42-38 when Dennis Horner sank a 3-pointer from the corner. Wake followed that jump shot with the defining stretch of the game.

First, Ish Smith drove the lane, drew the defense and passed the ball to David Weaver for a short open jumper in the lane.

Then freshman Ari Stewart rebounded Smith’s missed free throw and scored on a layup.

“I wasn’t in the lane,” Stewart said. “I had a feeling it was going to come off the front of the rim. I just beat everybody to the side and got it. It was real critical. It changed the face of the game. I’m just glad I was in the right spot at the right time.”

Finally, Smith blocked Horner’s shot from behind, scrambled to get the loose ball and passed it ahead to Aminu for a thundering dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.

“That pushed (the lead) from four back to 10,” Gaudio said. “That little 6-0 run was a really big run for us, even though it was only six points.”

It was only six points, but it was also great defense. Tracy Smith had three offensive rebounds during the run, but missed the putback each time. Ish Smith and Weaver both had blocked shots.

“(Tracy Smith) is their go-to guy,” Stewart said. “He touches the ball twice as much as anyone else on their team. We made sure we had great backside help. When our big men fronted him, we had to make sure we were in the lane and make sure that pass couldn’t get there.”

The Wolfpack never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Tracy Smith fouled out with 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes of playing time. He came in averaging 20.8 points over his last five games.

Javier Gonzalez scored 18 points and freshman Scott Wood had 11 for N.C. State. Gonzalez scored 15 of the Wolfpack’s last 19 points — including 11 in a row — but none of his baskets cut the lead below eight.

Nothing seemed to matter after those three little baskets, those six little points.

NOTES: Ish Smith ranks fifth on Wake Forest’s all-time assists list with 480 in 100 games. Danny Young (1981-’84) is fourth with 493. … This is the fourth consecutive season N.C. State started the ACC season on the road.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

N.C. STATE (8-2) — Williams 2-6 0-0 4, T.Smith 5-12 1-2 11, Horner 2-8 3-4 8, Gonzalez 6-13 3-5 18, Wood 4-8 2-3 11, Howell 0-4 0-0 0, Painter 0-0 0-0 0, Degand 0-4 0-0 0, Vandenberg 0-3 0-0 0, Davis 1-1 2-5 4, Mays 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 21-62 11-19 59.

WAKE FOREST (8-2) — Aminu 7-11 3-5 18, Williams 1-3 3-4 5, McFarland 3-8 3-8 9, Smith 5-13 0-1 10, Harris 3-10 3-4 10, Clark 2-3 0-0 4, Stewart 2-6 0-0 5, Weaver 2-4 0-0 4, Woods 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 26-61 12-23 67.

Halftime—Wake Forest 35-26.
3-point goals—N.C. State 6-21 (Gonzalez 3-7, Mays 1-2, Horner 1-3, Wood 1-4, Howell 0-1, Degand 0-2, Williams 0-2), Wake Forest 3-11 (Aminu 1-1, Stewart 1-3, Harris 1-4, Smith 0-1, McFarland 0-1, Clark 0-1).
Fouled out—T.Smith.
Rebounds—N.C. State 40 (T.Smith 10), Wake Forest 48 (Aminu 13).
Assists—N.C. State 8 (Gonzalez, Williams 3), Wake Forest 12 (Smith 7).
Total fouls—N.C. State 25, Wake Forest 17.
A—14,255.