Via: WRAL.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Al-Farouq Aminu had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Wake Forest beat North Carolina State 67-59 on Sunday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Freshman C.J. Harris scored 10 points while Ishmael Smith had 10 points, seven assists and a memorable fast-break sequence to lead the Demon Deacons (8-2, 1-0).
The ACC’s top rebounding team held a 48-40 advantage on the glass, shot 42.6 percent and led for nearly the whole way but needed to hold off a second-half comeback bid by the Wolfpack to wrap up its fourth straight win.
Javier Gonzalez scored 18 points, one shy of a personal best, while freshman Scott Wood added a season-high 11 points and Tracy Smith had 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 5:28 remaining for N.C. State (8-2, 0-1).
The Wolfpack were 6-for-21 from 3-point range and turned it over 16 times yet nearly rallied from 14 points down. The Wolfpack made it a four-point game with 14 1/2 minutes left before Wake Forest pulled away with a 14-4 run.
The sequence that had everybody buzzing took place during that burst. Ishmael Smith blocked Horner’s layup – just the sixth rejection of the senior point guard’s career – to start his own fast break. Then, he capped it by lofting an alley-oop pass to Aminu, who slammed it home to make it 48-38 with 12 minutes left and restore Wake Forest’s double-figure lead.
The Wolfpack didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.
Aminu, the ACC’s top rebounder, finished with his league-leading seventh double-double while helping Wake Forest deny the Wolfpack their first victory in Winston-Salem since 2007.
Both teams entered with strong early-season records, but there were lingering pregame hints that the edge might rest with the Demon Deacons. They had one common opponent so far, with N.C. State coming off a three-point victory over an Elon team that Wake Forest recently beat by 40.
Early on, that’s how this one played out. The Demon Deacons seemed to have taken control midway through the first half with a dominating stretch in which they took the lead for good by outscoring N.C. State 22-7, hit 11 of 16 shots and held the Wolfpack to one field goal in nearly 8 minutes.
For a while, Wake Forest had players in prime position to stick back those rare misses. Ari Stewart missed a 3-pointer midway through the half, but in one impressive motion, David Weaver soared in to collect the rebound and slam it home, backwards-style.
But those shots stopped falling, and that allowed the Wolfpack to get themselves back in the game. N.C. State outscored Wake Forest 10-3 early in the second half to tighten things up for a while
