C.J. Williams scored 15 points, including a four-point play, and C.J. Leslie stepped up in the second half to carry N.C. State to a 61-52 victory against Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
The Wolfpack (18-7, 7-3 ACC) have their best mark in conference play at the 10-game mark since the 2005-06 season and trail the top three — Duke, North Carolina and Florida State — by only one game in the loss column.
Those just happen to be the next three opponents on the schedule.
"All you want is a chance," said coach Mark Gottfried, in his first year at N.C. State. "Let's go get 'em."
The Wolfpack got a typically balanced scoring attack, with four players in double figures. Leslie added 13 points — nine in the second half — and Scott Wood and Lorenzo Brown had 10 apiece. Leslie also had 10 rebounds.
N.C. State came into the game with all five starters averaging in double figures.
"If you had said we'd have 18 wins at the beginning of the year, I would've thought that was pretty good," Gottfried said. "Now the game changes. We're going to slug it out all the way to the end. We've got a group of guys with a lot of confidence. That's what you've got to like about this team. They play very well together. They share the ball and pass the ball."
Wood finally missed a free throw, ending his ACC record streak at 66 in a row. Actually, he missed three, going 2 for 5 at the foul line.
"I'm definitely disappointed," he said. "I take a lot of pride in my free-throw shooting. Today was not my day. I'm just glad it happened in a game where we pulled out the win."
Kammeon Holsey had 17 points for Georgia Tech (9-15, 2-8), which couldn't overcome 32 percent shooting — including 1 for 17 from 3-point range.
"The toughest kid on the court was C.J. Williams," coach Brian Gregory said. "He was the difference in the game. He took advantage of defensive mistakes, made shots. He did a really good job."
Earlier this season, the Yellow Jackets upset N.C. State 82-71 in Raleigh, giving Gregory his first ACC win. The Wolfpack could not afford another setback like that, not if they want to make a run at an NCAA Tournament bid.
"We found a way to get it done at the end of the game," Gottfried said.
Wood is looking forward to the next three games. The Wolfpack get a week off before traveling to No. 10 Duke, then have home games against No. 15 Florida State and No. 5 North Carolina.
"We keep getting better. I think we definitely can be a top contender in the ACC," Wood said. "We kind of control our own destiny right now. We go into a tough environment next week. If we can scratch and claw and pull that one out, I think we'll be in really good shape."
Georgia Tech led much of the first half but poor shooting kept it from pushing out to a bigger advantage, even as it won the battle of the boards and seemed to outhustle the Wolfpack for every loose ball. Alex Johnson hit a jumper with just more than a minute remaining that turned out to be the final points of the half, sending N.C. State to the locker room with a 26-24 lead.
Holsey just shook his head when recounting the most discouraging stat — 13 offensive rebounds in the first half produced only six second-chance points.
"We should've had the lead," he said, "instead of being down by two."
Glen Rice Jr. had 15 points, and Daniel Miller contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Mfon Udofia, who had 17 points in the win over N.C. State, failed to score in the rematch.
He went 0 for 9 from the field for his second straight scoreless game.
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