Quick hits and notes from NC State Wolfpack basketball’s 72-67 win over Wake Forest inside of PNC Arena in Raleigh.

Things were getting a little dicey late. NC State took an 11-point lead just before halftime on a pair of free throws from fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels with 0.7 seconds left in the half.

It held that double-digit advantage all the way until 4:01 left in the game, but that is when the Demon Deacons were making a run at the Wolfpack. A 9-0 WFU run cut what was a 15-point NC State lead down to six points at 58-52 with 3:35 left, when head coach Kevin Keatts used a timeout.

Coming out of that timeout, NC State had a key sequence that was instrumental in holding off the visitors from Winston-Salem. First, junior forward Jericole Hellems made a short, open jumper in the lane. Then fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk stole an entry pass into the paint before getting back on offense and being fouled with 2:27 left. Funderburk made both free throws to put the Wolfpack up 62-52.

This was a game devoid of exciting action and did not have a single dunk.

Thus we are stretching to label a late, well-executed breaking off the press by freshman guard Shakeel Moore that resulted in a layup for redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen with 30.5 seconds left, putting the Wolfpack up 69-62, as the highlight of the game.

NC State fans are hoping it's not the last time they see Daniels on the floor, but if it is it was a heck of a performance.

Daniels had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. It was the fourth time this year and 11th of his career that he reached 20 points in a game. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, Daniels went down with a left knee injury with about nine minutes left and NC State leading 53-39.

There is no word on the severity of Daniels' injury, yet. Head coach Kevin Keatts said after the game that he anticipates there being a MRI and expects to know more in 24-48 hours.

Daniels did not put weight on his left knee after being attended to on the court by Keatts and the trainers and was taken back to a table set aside near the end of the tunnel coming off the court. He then went further back to the locker room and was spotted on crutches.

Daniels never returned courtside.

Before he went down, Daniels was a huge catalyst in NC State's outside shooting.

He had made 3 of 4 three-point attempts, and overall the Wolfpack would shoot 7 of 14 from the field from beyond the arc. That total included a pair of missed threes from fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk, who is now 1 of 8 on long-range attempts this season.

Perhaps most heartening though was to see freshman guard Shakeel Moore find his stroke. In his last three games, Moore has missed all 10 three-point shot attempts. Against Wake Forest, he was 2 of 3.

It was a season-best shooting percentage on threes for the Wolfpack, and interestingly it was also a season-low number of attempts.

Wake Forest made 24 of 58 shots from the field for 41.4 percent overall, and that included WFU closing the game strong and making five of its final seven shot attempts.

It is easily the lowest shooting percentage allowed in a game this year versus ACC competition thus far for the Wolfpack. The previous low was 44.3 percent by UNC when the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in Raleigh on Dec. 22.

NC State's defense also forced 20 turnovers, the most in an ACC game this season.

Here we keep track of the scoring between each official timeout to help give an idea of the game flow:

First half

20:00-15:08: Wake Forest 11, NC State 8

15:08-11:05: NC State 11, Wake Forest 4

11:05-6:44: NC State 9, Wake Forest 4

6:44-3:54: NC State 0, Wake Forest 0

3:54-Halftime: NC State 4, Wake Forest 2

Second half

20:00-16:28: NC State 8, Wake Forest 4

16:28-11:59: NC State 9, Wake Forest 7

11:59-7:15: Wake Forest 9, NC State 4

7:15-2:27: Wake Forest 11, NC State 7

2:27-Final:Wake Forest 15, NC State 12

Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) on NCSU:

• Daniels: +13 (29 minutes played)

• Senior guard Braxton Beverly: +8 (19)

• Funderburk: +7 (26)

• Moore: +7 (18)

• Redshirt junior center Manny Bates: +2 (19)

• Hellems: +1 (36)

• Allen: -3 (25)

• Freshman guard Cam Hayes: -3 (21)

• Redshirt freshman forward Dereon Seabron: -7 (7)

Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average for an NBA player.

Daniels — 16.6

Hellems — 12.6

Moore — 8.3

Funderburk — 6.1

Bates — 4.8

Beverly — 3.5

Hayes — 2.6

Seabron — 1.2

Allen — -1.2

NC State improves to 7-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC while Wake Forest is 4-7 and 1-7. The Wolfpack is now 6-1 at home and 4-3 in night games (tipoff after 6 p.m.). NC State is 6-3 in weekday contests (3-1 on Wednesdays).

NC State leads the all-time series against Wake Forest, 147-106, and is 102-55 in games played in Raleigh, including 17-5 in PNC Arena. Keatts improves his record to 6-1 at NC State against WFU.

This game was televised on ACC Network. Throughout the year we will keep track of the Pack's record on the different channels:

• ESPNU: 1-0

• ACC Network: 5-2

• RSN: 1-2

• ESPN: 1-0

We will also track NC State’s records by month:

• November: 2-0

• December: 4-1

• January: 1-4

• NC State barely won the points in the paint, 28-26.

• Both teams had nine fast-break points.

• The Wolfpack bench outscored Wake Forest's reserves, 24-15.

• NC State won the turnover margin, 20-17, and more importantly that translated to the advantage in points off turnovers, 24-17.

• WFU won on the boards 34-29 in overall rebounds and 13-8 on the offensive glass. That led to an 11-4 second-chance points win for the Deacons.

• Defensively, NC State had eight blocks and 10 steals. Wake Forest had five blocks and added seven steals.

• NC State’s largest lead was 17 points and it led for 33:45. Wake's largest advantage was six points and it led for 5:58.

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