RALEIGH, N.C. — The Big Three carried N.C. State in the first half against Wake Forest.
When the shots stopped falling for Jericole Hellems, Dereon Seabron and Terquavion Smith, things went south in a hurry.
The Demon Deacons weren’t exactly head and shoulders better on this particular night but had enough of a balanced attack to hold off the Wolfpack, 69-51.
Despite the second-half scoring outburst by Seabron, Wake Forest (20-5, 10-4 ACC) was able to hand N.C. State (10-15, 3-11) its fifth consecutive loss. It’s the first time head coach Kevin Keatts has dropped five in a row since taking over in 2017.
This one wasn’t because of his best player. Seabron finished with 22 points, 17 coming in the second half. The problem was, Hellems and Smith, the two other big-time offensive contributors, took a step back.
In the first half, N.C. State was able to stick around thanks to its Big Three. Hellems, Seabron and Smith combined for 20 of the 28 points in the first half. The rest of the team went 4 for 10 in the opening 20 minutes. One surprise, though, was forward Ebenezer Dowuona, who went 3 for 3 for six points.
The Wolfpack defense had a hard time containing the Demon Deacons’ combo of Isaiah Mucius and Dallas Walton, who each had nine points. N.C. State managed to stabilize the rest of the Wake Forest offense but never took control of the game thanks to a lack of help from the supporting cast.
In the second half, while Seabron kept getting stronger, Smith and Hellems only had two points combined. Seabron, the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, scored nine of 11 points in a two-minute span to pull the Pack to within one, 48-47. Reserve guard Cam Hayes scored the other two from the foul line.
Moments later, Seabron made a layup to make it a 50-49 game. But Mucius hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to stretch the lead to 53-49. Seabron hit two from the foul line but Wake Forest guard Daivien Williamson hit a 3, then converted a layup after a turnover to push the lead to seven.
Seabron scored 17 of the 23 second-half points for N.C. State. Alondes Williams, an ACC Player of the Year candidate, was just as strong in the second half, scoring 15 points. Williams finished the game with 17.
Wake Forest used a 16-0 run in the final three minutes to push the lead to double figures. State managed to stay within striking distance most of the night, but once Seabron cooled off, the Deacons cruised.
It didn’t help that N.C. State shot a season-low 14% from the 3-point line.
With the victory, Wake Forest snapped a four-game losing streak at PNC Arena.
