D.J. Burns Jr. scored 31 points and made free throws to snap a late tie as North Carolina State rallied for a 79-77 road victory against Wake Forest on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Wolfpack (17-5, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won despite shooting 8 for 17 from the free-throw line.

Jarkel Joiner had 17 points, including a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left that supplied a five-point edge for North Carolina State. Terquavion Smith poured in 16 points for the Wolfpack.

Burns was 14 for 26 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Teammate Greg Gantt had 10 boards.

Damari Monsanto scored 22 points and Tyree Appleby added 18 for Wake Forest (14-8, 6-5), which has lost three in a row for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Andrew Carr had 14 points and Cameron Hildreth added 12 points.

Wake Forest was 18 for 22 on free throws but shot just 7 for 21 from 3-point range.

Burns broke a tie with two foul shots at the 1:22 mark. Carr’s 3 in the waning seconds accounted for the final points.

Wake Forest led 43-33 early in the second half, but the Wolfpack pulled even at 62-62 on Joiner’s 3-point basket with 6 1/2 minutes to play. That gave Joiner seven points in slightly more than two minutes.

It became a 19-6 run for NC State, which built a 70-66 lead. That was part of a span when the Wolfpack made 11 of 12 shots from the field.

Wake Forest stayed close by making five of six free-throw attempts during a 44-second stretch, so the Demon Deacons trailed 72-71.

Wake Forest led 37-31 at halftime, with Appleby and Monsanto accounting for 26 of the points.

NC State stayed within range despite shooting 33.3 percent from the field. The Demon Deacons held an 11-1 scoring edge in free throws at the break.

–Field Level Media