news-record.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Wide open or with a hand in his face, it didn't seem to matter: Scott Wood was going to knock down a 3-pointer.

Again and again and again.

The freshman forward scored 31 points — making seven 3-pointers — as N.C. State grabbed its first ACC win of the season, holding off No. 25 Florida State 88-81 on Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

"When you get going, it's hard to explain. It's like 'The Matrix,'" Wood said. "Even a couple times I took a shot I thought, 'Why am I taking this?' And they went in."

Did they ever. Wood made 10 of 15 shots from the field and added seven rebounds in his best performance of the season for the Wolfpack (12-5, 1-2 ACC). He had 13 points in the first 14 minutes Tuesday, easily eclipsing his previous high of 15 points in the Dec. 31 win over UNCG at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"Tonight was a good indication of his talent," Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said. "He was on fire. They were chasing him hard. I was just glad he knocked those down."

With the score tied at 11 five minutes into the game, Wood keyed a 12-1 run that produced a lead the Wolfpack would not relinquish.

Florida State (13-4, 1-2) could only close the deficit to four, 59-55, when Solomon Alabi made a pair of free throws. Wood quickly responded with back-to-back 3-pointers around a Seminoles free throw and the Wolfpack was up 65-56 lead.

FSU tried to foul in the last four minutes, but N.C. State made 24 of 28 free-throw attempts in the second half.

"To win on the road in the ACC is tough," Lowe said. "It's just a great win for our guys."

N.C. State has won 16 of its last 20 games against FSU, and the Wolfpack returns home with a little bit of momentum going into Saturday's game against No. 24 Clemson at the RBC Center.

On Tuesday, the Wolfpack gave up a few inches to an aggressive, athletic Seminoles frontcourt, but still outrebounded FSU 37-28. N.C. State received surprising contributions from guard Farnold Degand, who had 13 points in his first start of the season. Rreserve guard Julius Mays added 12 points, making all 10 of his free-throw attempts.

Some of N.C. State's top players, however, were held in check by FSU's defense. Top scorer Tracy Smith, who came into the game averaging 17.6 points, was held to seven points on 1-of-8 shooting. Dennis Horner was limited to eight points, while Javier Gonzalez scored just five points.

"Our main three guys didn't have big games," Lowe said.

FSU's Chris Singleton fouled out with 19 points, while Alabi and Derwin Kitchen added 15 points for the Seminoles. FSU made just four of 13 3-point attempts and also missed point-blank opportunities inside.

"For the entire game, we missed 15 layups," said Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles' coach. "We got the ball where we wanted it, but we couldn't finish."

N.C. State did — on the boards, at the line and beyond the arc.

N.C. STATE (12-5) — Wood 10-15 4-6 31, T.Smith 1-8 5-6 7, Horner 2-6 2-2 8, Gonzalez 2-3 0-0 5, Degand 3-5 6-8 13, Howell 3-4 1-2 7, Vandenberg 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Davis 1-4 1-1 3, Mays 1-4 10-10 12. Totals 24-53 29-35 88.

FLORIDA STATE (13-4) — Singleton 7-15 6-10 22, Reid 4-9 4-6 12, Alabi 4-6 7-10 15, Dulkys 1-3 2-2 5, Kitchen 5-10 4-4 15, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson 0-2 0-0 0, DeMercy 0-2 0-0 0, Loucks 0-3 0-0 0, Shannon 0-0 0-0 0, Snaer 5-7 2-2 12. Totals 26-57 25-34 81.

Halftime—N.C. State 38-31.
3-point goals—N.C. State 11-23 (Wood 7-11, Horner 2-3, Gonzalez 1-2, Degand 1-3, Davis 0-1, Williams 0-1, Mays 0-2), Florida State 4-13 (Singleton 2-5, Dulkys 1-2, Kitchen 1-4, Loucks 0-2).
Fouled out—Dulkys, Gonzalez, Singleton, Snaer.
Rebounds—N.C. State 37 (T.Smith 8), Florida State 28 (Singleton 8).
Assists—N.C. State 11 (Gonzalez 3), Florida State 9 (Kitchen 4).
Total fouls—N.C. State 27, Florida State 26.
A—9,709.