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RALEIGH — The 3-point shot giveth. And the 3-point shot taketh away.

It giveth momentum, along with an extra point. It taketh away hope when it does not go in.

Here endeth the lesson from Saturday afternoon's game at the RBC Center, where host N.C. State defeated No. 23 Wake Forest 68-54.

The Wolfpack (15-13, 3-10 ACC) shot 6-for-12 from 3-point range. Forgotten man C.J. Williams was 2-for-3 from long range and scored 12 points off the bench. The Pack shot a torrid 5-for-7 out there in the second half to finish off its third upset of a nationally ranked ACC team.

Wake Forest (18-7, 8-5) shot 0-for-12 from 3-point range. It's the first time the Demon Deacons didn't make a 3-point shot since Feb. 3, 1992, against Tulane — a string of 575 games.

But there's more to it than simply taking a jump shot from 20 feet, 9 inches and beyond. All 3-pointers are not created equal.

Consider Williams' two 3-point shots. They came 1:55 apart in the second half after Wake Forest cut a 12-point lead to eight.

Both times, Williams moved without the ball, weaving to a spot on the floor where he could catch the ball and shoot a wide-open jumper.

"Definitely in that second half we did something we've had trouble doing, and that is make a couple of shots when a team is making a run at us," Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said. "... It's not just that the shots went down. It's that the shots went down because we had the movement going with the ball and the bodies."

The movement continued —even after Wake cut the lead to six — and the shots fell.

N.C. State hit three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Farnold Degand and another by Javy Gonzalez. Degand's second — a catch-and-shoot off Gonzalez's pass — gave the Wolfpack a 14-point lead with 4:13 left.

"We didn't settle today," Lowe said. "We were determined to keep the movement going, to keep the ball moving, and we saw the results. We got open looks and we made them. &ellipses; I'm glad that something good happened for them, with all the work they're putting in and the positive attitudes they're keeping, I'm glad to see those shots went down."

Nothing went down for Wake.

The Deacs are built inside-out. Power forward Al-Farouq Aminu finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and guard/forward L.D. Williams had 12 points and 11 boards.

But Wake's freshmen — C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart — shot 0-for-8 from 3-point range. The Deacs rely on those kids for perimeter shooting. They were scoreless until Stewart's meaningless layup with 1:13 left.

"They just killed us," Stewart said. "... They did a good job of latching on to us and getting through our screeners to stay with us. They were right there, and it was real hard to get open."

In the last eight games, Stewart has scored in double-figures once and Harris twice.

"I'm concerned about our freshmen," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said. "We ran a couple of sets for them, but they couldn't knock them down. N.C. State did a good job of corralling and surrounding Ish (Smith), but that's when we need to kick it out and get a jump shot."

The Deacs didn't. The 3-pointer taketh away.

The Pack did. And the 3-pointer giveth an upset victory.

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

WAKE FOREST (18-7) — Aminu 6-12 3-4 15, Smith 6-16 0-3 12, Harris 0-9 0-0 0, McFarland 2-7 3-4 7, Williams 5-11 2-4 12, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Stewart 1-6 0-0 2, Weaver 1-1 0-0 2, Woods 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 23-66 8-15 54.

N.C. STATE (15-13) — Gonzalez 3-8 4-5 11, Degand 4-8 3-4 13, Wood 1-3 1-2 4, T.Smith 4-8 6-6 14, Horner 3-7 4-4 10, Howell 2-4 0-0 4, Painter 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 4-8 2-3 12, Davis 0-3 0-0 0, Mays 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 20-24 68.

Wake Forest 18 36 — 54
N.C. State 28 40 — 68

Percentages—Wake Forest (FG .348, FT .533), N.C. State (FG .404, FT .833).
3-point goals—Wake Forest 0-12 (Aminu 0-1, Williams 0-1, Smith 0-2, Stewart 0-4, Harris 0-4), N.C. State 6-12 (Williams 2-3, Degand 2-4, Wood 1-1, Gonzalez 1-3, Horner 0-1).
Fouled out—Aminu, Stewart.
Rebounds—Wake Forest 50 (Aminu 14), N.C. State 31 (Horner 12).
Assists—Wake Forest 6 (Smith 5), N.C. State 14 (Gonzalez 6).
Blocked shots—Wake Forest 4 (Aminu 2), N.C. State 6 (Horner 3, Williams 2).
Turnovers—Wake Forest 23 (McFarland 6, Aminu 6, Smith 5), N.C. State 15 (Williams 3, Degand 3).
Steals—Wake Forest 7 (Aminu 2, Williams 2), N.C. State 10 (Gonzalez 4, Horner 2, Degand 2).
Total fouls—Wake Forest 21, N.C. State 16.
A—15,324.
Officials—Bryan Kersey, Les Jones, Gary Maxwell.