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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. >> Trevor Lacey scored 17 points, including five in the final 1:22, as North Carolina State held off a Florida State second-half rally to escape with a 72-63 victory Saturday.
The Wolfpack (13-6, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) led by as many as 19 on the way to a 42-30 halftime lead, but Florida State caught up at 60 on Brandon Allen’s tip-in with four minutes left.
Allen, a little-used former minor league baseball player whose dad starred for Florida State in the 1980s, followed Phil Cofer’s miss to tie it, but NC State’s Ralston Turner hit a trey to give NC State a 63-60 lead.
Turner added 15 points for the Wolfpack before fouling out with 1:35 left.
Montay Brandon scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half to spark Florida State’s comeback. Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 15 points and Devon Bookert 11 for the Seminoles (9-9, 1-4 ACC).
Taking advantage of a superior inside game, the Wolfpack built a 34-15 lead en route to their 12-point advantage at the half, shooting 56.3 percent while Florida State shot 39.1 percent before the break. NC State outscored Florida State 18-4 in the paint in the first half.
Lacey, the Wolfpack’s leading scorer on the season, hit 3 of 4 3-point tries and led the way with 11 first-half points for NC State.
Bookert was perfect on three long range attempts in the opening half to lead the Seminoles with nine points.
NC State held Bookert to a single basket in the second half when he missed four attempts from 3-point distance.
The Wolfpack were without the services of sophomore point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber, who remained home because of a death in his family.
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TIP-INS
Florida State: Coach Leonard Hamilton went into Saturday’s game looking for his 100th career ACC victory and 229th at Florida State which would have tied him with Hugh Durham as the school’s winningest coach. Durham was in attendance along with former Seminoles for the school’s annual basketball reunion. Former FSU and Boston Celtic great Dave Cowens was among dozens of players who returned.
NC State: The Wolfpack had played ranked opponents — Virginia, Duke and North Carolina — in its previous three games. NC State defeated Duke and lost to North Carolina by a basket.
3-POINTERS
NC State came into the game ranked fourth in the ACC in 3-point shooting with an accuracy mark of 37.6 percent. Senior Ralston Turner led the way with a 41 percent mark from long distance.
Florida State entered the game ranked 14th in 3-point shooting percentage and last in defending the 3-point shot.
UP NEXT
Florida State plays at Clemson on Monday.
North Carolina State plays Thursday at Miami.
