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BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Dorenzo Hudson and Malcolm Delaney each scored 21 points to help Virginia Tech snap a three-game losing streak Wednesday night in a 71-59 win over N.C. State.

The victory enabled the Hokies to sweep the season series with the Wolfpack, but more importantly, Virginia Tech could not afford a loss if it harbored any hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"We knew that," Delaney said. "We hear everything that's going on. At the same time, we're more focused on not losing the game so that we can get that bye (in the first round of the ACC tournament). That's important if you want to make a deep run in the tournament."

"There was pressure," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "We couldn't afford to lose to (No.) 101 or 102 (N.C. State's RPI) or whatever it was."

The Hokies (22-7, 9-6 ACC) broke open a close game with a 14-2 run to end the first half and took a 31-22 lead at halftime on freshman Manny Atkins' layup at the buzzer.

N.C. State hit one shot in the final 4:50 of the first half and turned the ball over four times in that span — which was part of a 13 turnover first half for the Wolfpack.

N.C. State (16-14, 4-11), which saw a modest two-game winning streak snapped, used a 10-0 run to cut the lead to two, 34-32, on two free throws by Javier Gonzalez with 16:17 remaining. But the Hokies responded by scoring the next 11 points, including nine on three 3-pointers by Delaney.

N.C. State got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

"It felt good," Delaney said. "I knew I was feeling good and that I needed to hit a couple of shots to get the lead back up, so we could play a little more relaxed and with the lead. We had been trying to put it altogether at the end of the game the last couple of games."

"He (Delaney) felt the pressure that we were bringing and he knew that it was his time to do something," N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said. "That's what great players do. They make it happen and he made it happen in a big way with those 3s."

Delaney, the ACC's leading scorer who came in averaging 20.4 points per game, went 6 of 12 from the floor and 3 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Jeff Allen added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Hokies.

N.C. State hurt itself with 20 turnovers. The Wolfpack got 16 points from Gonzalez and 12 from Tracy Smith.

"We've normally been around the 10-12 range and giving ourselves an opportunity," Lowe said. "But we didn't do that. You can't turn the ball over like that against this team. They're too good and too talented. They're too tough mentally and they make you pay. We didn't give ourselves a chance."

N.C. STATE (16-14) — Wood 3-7 2-2 9, T.Smith 4-11 4-5 12, Horner 3-9 4-5 11, Gonzalez 6-13 3-3 16, Degand 1-2 0-2 2, Howell 0-0 0-0 0, Painter 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-5 2-2 4, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Mays 2-3 0-0 5, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 15-19 59.

VIRGINIA TECH (22-7) — Allen 6-10 6-9 18, Witcher 2-5 0-0 4, Hudson 7-14 7-9 21, Delaney 6-12 6-6 21, Debnam 0-0 1-2 1, Bell 0-3 0-2 0, Green 0-2 0-0 0, Davila 0-1 0-0 0, Boggs 0-0 0-0 0, Atkins 1-2 0-0 2, Thompson 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-53 20-28 71.

N.C. State 22 37 — 59
Virginia Tech 31 40 — 71

Percentages—N.C. State (FG .400, FT .789), Virginia Tech (FG .453, FT .714)
3-point goals—N.C. State 4-16 (Mays 1-2, Wood 1-3, Gonzalez 1-4, Horner 1-5, Williams 0-1, Degand 0-1), Virginia Tech 3-12 (Delaney 3-6, Bell 0-1, Atkins 0-1, Green 0-1, Allen 0-1, Hudson 0-2).
Fouled out—Wood.
Rebounds—N.C. State 35 (Horner 8), Virginia Tech 29 (Allen 9).
Assists—N.C. State 8 (Degand, Gonzalez, T.Smith 2), Virginia Tech 13 (Bell 5).
Blocked shots—N.C. State 1 (Howell), Virginia Tech 3 (Allen 2).
Turnovers—N.C. State 20 (T.Smith 4, Gonzalez 4, Howell 3, Horner 3, Degand 3), Virginia Tech 10 (Bell 3, Delaney 3).
Steals—N.C. State 4 (Williams 2, Gonzalez 2), Virginia Tech 6 (Bell 2).
Total fouls—N.C. State 23, Virginia Tech 17.
A—9,847.
Officials—Roger Ayers, Dwayne Gladden, Jamie Luckie.