RALEIGH (AP) — D.J. Burns Jr. scored 24 points, Terquavion Smith distributed 10 assists and North Carolina State beat Georgia Tech 72-64 in a back-and-forth contest on Saturday.

Casey Morsell scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (19-5, 9-5 ACC) shooting 6 for 9 and backup Ernest Ross scored 16 and had seven rebounds. Ross was the only player for either team who scored off the bench.

N.C. State held the lead for 19:49 to 17:15 for Georgia Tech.

The Wolfpack improved to 13-1 at home this season and now have won eight of its last nine. The Wolfpack are off to their best start since the final season of the Herb Sendek era 17 years ago.

Burns made two foul shots, Morsell made a 3-pointer 28 seconds later with 2:06 to go for a 65-61 lead and N.C. State led for the remainder. Georgia Tech (8-16, 1-13) shot 1 for 8 down the stretch in the midst of N.C. State 14-3 run over the final 3:51.

Miles Kelly scored 17 for the Yellow Jackets, Javon Franklin 16, Kyle Sturdivant 13 and Lance Terry 10.

N.C. State sped to a quick 5-0 lead before the Yellow Jackets went on a 19-6 run. N.C. State regrouped to take a 41-35 lead at halftime but never reached safe distance until late.

Georgia Tech looks to end its nine-game losing streak when it hosts Notre Dame on Wednesday. N.C. State heads to Virginia to face the No. 6 Cavaliers on Tuesday in a key matchup for both teams.

 

Monsanto scores 28, Wake Forest rolls past Notre Dame 81-64
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Damari Monsanto scored a career-high 28 points, making eight 3-pointers — also a career high — and Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame 81-64 on Saturday to snap a four-game losing streak.

Monsanto made 8 of 13 from distance and also grabbed seven rebounds. His three 3-pointers in the first half were the only 3-point makes for either team.
Wake Forest hit on 6 of 7 3-pointers in the first 5:02 of the second half, building a 13-point lead when Daivien Williamson hit a 3-pointer for a 47-34 advantage.

Marcus Hammond finally hit Notre Dame’s first 3-pointer with 13:47 remaining. Nate Laszewski added two more 3-pointers, but the Fighting Irish were still down by eight with 8:31 remaining, 60-52. Tyree Appleby then hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to put the Demon Deacons up by 13 again.

Monsanto’s seventh 3-pointer gave Wake Forest a 17-point lead with 4:27 remaining. His eighth 3 gave the Demon Deacons a 17-point lead again and capped the scoring with 41 seconds to go.

Appleby had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Wake Forest (15-9, 7-6 ACC) and Bobi Klintman scored 10. Wake Forest shot 58.6% in the second half, with 11 of 19 3-pointers, and scored 50 points. For the game, the Demon Deacons shot 52.7% and connected on 14 of 30 3-pointers.

Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-13, 2-10) with 18 points, Cormac Ryan added 12 and Hammond scored 10.

Notre Dame, which averages 9.3 made 3-pointers per game, missed its first eight in the first half and finished 4 for 21. The Fighting Irish had only four turnovers, three of them by Ryan.

The Fighting Irish hit 7 of their first 14 shots, including 7 of 11 inside the 3-point arc, and built a 16-4 lead. But Notre Dame missed its next eight attempts and Wake Forest rallied to get within 22-20 with 3:55 remaining in the half. The Demon Deacons took a 25-24 lead on a 3-pointer by Monsanto, his third of the half, and later a layup by Cameron Hildreth gave them a 27-26 lead at the break. Monsanto was the only player for either team to make a 3-pointer in the first half.
Wake Forest won at Notre Dame for just the second time in seven trips to South Bend. Notre Dame leads the series 8-7 overall.

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