Williams lifts Wake Forest past N.C. State for 20th win

RALEIGH, N.C. -- — Alondes Williams scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Wake Forest outscored North Carolina State 21-4 in the final seven minutes to beat the Wolfpack 69-51 on Wednesday night.

Williams shot 7 for 10, grabbed nine rebounds — all on the defensive side — and distributed six assists. Isaiah Mucius and Khadim Sy each scored 13 points and Daivien Williamson 11. Sy finished 6-for-7 shooting from the floor and Wake Forest overall went 27 for 50 (54%).

The contest was a matchup of the top-two scoring trios in the ACC. Williams entered averaging 19.8 points per game, Jake LaRavia 15.1, and Williamson 12.9 for a combined 47.8 points per game.

NC State’s featured trio of Dereon Seabron (18.0), Terquavion Smith (15.8) and Jericole Hellems (13.8) were just behind Wake's threesome at 47.6 points per game. Seabron finished with 22 points against Wake Forest and was the only double-digit scorer for North Carolina State.

Seabron sank a pair of foul shots to bring the Wolfpack within 48-47 with 8:23 left. But Wake Forest turned up its defense and quickly pulled away.

The Demon Deacons (20-5, 10-4 ACC) reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Wake has won three straight and seven of its last eight.

North Carolina State (10-15, 3-11) is streaking in the opposite direction having lost five straight and seven of its last eight contests.

Wake Forest hosts Miami on Saturday while North Carolina State travels to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

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