OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME: Wake Forest

Here are the highs and lows from NC State's 90-84 road win at Wake Forest.

NC State culminated a solid week with a win it could not get in each of the past five seasons. 

The Wolfpack led most of the way and held off a late rally to defeat Wake Forest, 90-84, in Winston-Salem. The victory Saturday snapped a five-game road losing streak to the Demon Deacons and gave State a season sweep in the series. 

The win also improves NC State to 18-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC. 

Joel Coliseum has been a house of horrors in recent years for the Pack. The win Saturday ended a slump and pulled the Wolfpack one step closer to a return to the NCAA Tournament. 

HIGHLIGHTS

For the second time this season, Allerik Freeman was terrific in a road game against a Big Four school. 

He finished with 24 points on only 10 shot attempts. Freeman was able to draw fouls (he took 14 shots from the charity stripe). There was also some solid work on the glass as he tallied a team-best eight rebounds. 

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Al Freeman shot 14 free throws in the Wake Forest win.

This is the guy NC State hoped he would be. It has been an interesting journey this season for Al Freeman -- a stand-up guy who never worries about what is said yet also never shies away from questions.

If he gives the Wolfpack this type of solid performance that comes completely within the context of the game and is not forced then the team can compete with anyone. 

* Torin Dorn Jr. rebounded from a tough outing at Syracuse to play positively for the Wolfpack in Saturday’s win. Dorn was 6-of-13 from the floor (like Freeman, there was nothing done out of the context of the offense) and finished with 14 points.

He shrugged off foul trouble and also added six rebounds to give the Pack the vital stats needed from a wing player. 

* It was done quietly but Omer Yurtseven finished with 21 points (9-of-17 field goals, 3-of-6 three-point attempts) and five boards despite having some foul woes of his own late. Yurtseven is probably the best player at the five position that NC State has had since Todd Fuller. 

* Markell Johnson put up a double-double (10 points and 10 assists). Sam Hunt drilled a pair of three-pointers to give State effective spot work that provided a push, especially in the first half.

Braxton Beverly played 31 minutes and did not commit a turnover. 

* The Wolfpack did some fine work behind the three-point line, making 11-of-24. NC State shot over 50 percent from the floor overall (30-of-59, 50.9 percent), and it has become a habit for them to do so. 

LOWLIGHTS

NC State led for exactly 33 minutes and 27 seconds of the game Saturday. Here are some stats from the contest. 

A glance at these statistics would lead one to think Wake Forest should have been in control for most of the game yet it was NC State that always kept the Demon Deacons at arm’s length. 

That might be a sign of growth for the Wolfpack, not just in the context of this season but also in the scope of the program as a whole going forward. These are games that NC State has mostly lost over the past two-plus decades. In fact, the Pack has also dropped these type of contests when the stats where in their favor, as Wake Forest did Saturday. 

* The game was still closer than it should have been and NC State making only 19-of-31 (61.3 percent) free throws played a role. 

* Bryant Crawford and Doral Moore were getting what they wanted for the most part. The pair combined for 52 points. Moore did much of his work on the offensive boards by hauling in seven rebounds off of Deacon missed shots. 

Crawford had 19 of his 29 points in the first half. The Wolfpack did a better job on him after intermission to be fair, but Keyshawn Woods scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half to mitigate the difference. Wake did a lot of good things offensively and NC State will look to shore that up this week. 

PACK +/-

+/- is the points scored by a team minus the points allowed by a team while a certain player is on the floor.

STAT OF THE GAME

NC State’s total number of ACC wins in 2016-17: 4

NC State’s total number of ACC ROAD wins in 2017-18: 4

QUOTE OF THE GAME

"I just think every game we win, I think it builds confidence. I go back and there are some certain games that I thought helped us -- obviously in the Bahamas with Arizona. When you look at the ACC our season could have went a different way probably if we didn’t win at Pittsburgh, but we found a way to win and then, obviously, every practice, every situation we try to make a competitive situation. 

"I took over a bunch that didn’t have a lot of success so we wanted to make everything competitive and they are playing that way now." -- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts