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GREENSBORO — Two fouls and solid defense stymied Scott Wood in the first half.

Second half, different story.

The Wolfpack marksman elevated from behind the 3-point arc and buried Florida State into submission. Smith drained a trio of 3-pointers after intermission as the No. 11-seeded Wolfpack joined the upset-minded semifinals party with a 58-52 victory at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Never before have the two lowest seeds advanced into the semifinals of the ACC tournament. If not for Smith, and stellar play at the point from Javier Gonzalez, the Wolfpack would be back in Raleigh.

Wood drained three of his four 3-pointers in the opening half but only played 13 minutes. He drained 3-pointers less than two minutes apart to spark the Wolfpack to a 46-37 lead with 13½ minutes to play.

Florida State never recovered.

The Seminoles worked the ACC’s top defender, Chris Singleton, in front of Wood during the first half. Michael Snaer also got a turn.

Florida State was effective working through screens set for Wood, and benefitted from the long arms of Singleton and the 6-foot-9 Ryan Reid.

Singleton had him to start the second half, but it was when Loucks and Deividas Dulkys — each four inches shorter than the 6-9 Singleton — found themselves in no man’s land that Wood kindled the voices of red-clad partisans.

By the time Snaer slowed him at the end, it was too late. The combination of Gonzalez and Wood had done the damage.

“We were struggling a little bit offensively,” Wolfpack guard Farnold Degand said. “And to be able to have Scott be able to put on an offensive outburst like that definitely helped us out a lot. It definitely helped push us toward this win.”

With the deficit approaching double figures, Florida State began to fire more from 3-point range. And N.C. State, beaten on the boards in the first half, found the long loose ball rebounds.

On offense, Gonzalez kept the Pack patient.

“It was huge,” said the Wolfpack’s Tracy Smith, who provided the closer role with a pair of late buckets. “They had no answer for him. He kept driving, penetrating, finding the open man. Once they stopped helping on Scott, then Javier just went to the hole all the way and started throwing his floater up. And he was connecting.”

Why State won

Limited to just 7 attempts on 3-pointers in the first half, the Wolfpack’s Javier Gonzalez split the defense with a pair of early drives through the lane in the second half. Scott Wood elevated on a pair of 3-pointers, a partisan crowd came to life and the Wolfpack shot 50 percent (11-for-22) from the floor in the second half.

Why Florida State lost

The Seminoles failed to capitalize on their strong defensive sequences in the first half. Florida State held the Wolfpack without a field for six minutes and scored 10 straight points but only rallied into a five-point advantage. The Seminoles also had ball-handling problems, committing 19 turnovers.

Play of the game

N.C. State trailed by five with a minute to play in the first half. Tracy Smith’s foul shots to close the half and 3-pointers from Chris Wood and Farnold Degand fueled the Wolfpack’s burst to 37-32 lead less than four minutes into the second half. Javier Gonzalez drove the lane successfully twice to cap the spree.

The key player

Chris Wood was no-doubt clutch, but don’t overlook point guard Javier Gonzalez. The Puerto Rican junior directed N.C. State with aplomb in the second half, splitting the defense with drives into the lane and keeping the offense moving — often with Wood-minded results. Gonzalez had just two turnovers in more than 30 minutes, scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

What they’re saying

”That was another gutsy win by our ballclub. We came out a little slow, but I thought we picked our defense up and really started picking them up full court and causing some turnovers. And I thought we were tough in the second half with our defense, especially down the stretch. And then we executed well and one big play down the stretch where Tracy (Smith) got a dunk.” — Sidney Lowe, N.C. State head coach

Noting the game

N.C. State holds a 5-1 lead over Florida State in ACC tournament games. Friday’s meeting was the first for the teams since 2005 in the nation’s capitol. Each of the last four have come in the Coliseum (1996, 1998, 2004, 2010). ... Sidney Lowe moved his coaching record in the ACC tournament to 5-3. The Wolfpack won three games in Lowe’s debut in Tampa (2007). Lowe is the only individual to win a game as player and later as a coach. ... N.C. State made 13-of-20 foul shots, surviving with a mere 7-for-14 effort after intermission. ... The Wolfpack sizzled in the teams’ only prior meeting this season, making 11 of 23 from 3-point range in an 88-81 victory Jan. 12. N.C. State was an effective 7-for-15 Friday night.

N.C. STATE (19-14) — Gonzalez 5-9 3-6 13, Degand 1-1 0-0 3, Wood 6-10 0-0 18, T.Smith 4-11 5-8 13, Horner 1-3 5-6 7, Howell 1-3 0-0 2, Vandenberg 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Mays 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 13-20 58.

FLORIDA STATE (22-9) — Snaer 3-4 0-0 6, Kitchen 2-7 0-0 4, Singleton 3-8 0-1 6, Alabi 4-10 5-7 13, Reid 2-7 3-4 7, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson 3-5 1-5 7, Loucks 1-3 0-0 3, Dulkys 2-8 0-0 6. Totals 20-52 9-17 52.

N.C. State 25 33 — 58
Florida State 28 24 — 52

Percentages—N.C. State (FG .442, FT .650), Flroida State (FG .385, FT .529)

3-point goals—N.C. State 7-15 (Wood 6-10, Degand 1-1, Horner 0-1, Williams 0-3), Florida State 3-18 (Dulkys 2-8, Loucks 1-2, Snaer 0-1, Gibson 0-1, Singleton 0-3, Kitchen 0-3).

Fouled out—None.

Rebounds—N.C. State 25 (T.Smith 6), Florida State 42 (Kitchen 11).

Assists—N.C. State 12 (Gonzalez 6), Florida State 8 (Kitchen 4).

Blocked shots—N.C. State 1 (Horner), Florida State 7 (Alabi 4).

Turnovers—N.C. State 16 (Degand 4, Howell 2, Mays 2, Gonzalez 2, Horner 2), Florida State 20 (Reid 5, Snaer 4, Alabi 2, Kitchen 2, Gibson 2, Singleton 2).

Steal—N.C. State 10 (Gonzalez 5, Wood 2), Florida State 9 (Alabi 3, Singleton 2, Kitchen 2).

Total fouls—N.C. State 16, Florida State 19.

A—23,318.

Officials—Mike Wood, Ray Natili, Brian Dorsey.