ATLANTA - Terquavion Smith scored 25 points, Jarkel Joiner added 19 and North Carolina State beat Georgia Tech 78-66 on Tuesday night for its fourth straight win.
Georgia Tech trailed 59-47 but cut the deficit to 63-57 with 6:16 to play. N.C. State answered with a 12-2 run for a 75-59 lead with 2:42 remaining. Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers and Joiner made four free throws during the stretch.
Smith was 9 of 17 from the floor and made four 3-pointers to go with five assists and two blocks. Joiner was 5-of-11 shooting and made all nine of his free throws.
Casey Morsell added 12 points and D.J. Burns Jr. had 10 for N.C. State (15-4, 5-3 ACC). Morsell also blocked three shots, including one that lead to a Joiner dunk.
Jalon Moore had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Georgia Tech (8-10, 1-7). Four others added nine points apiece for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech built a 10-point lead five minutes into the game before an 8-2 surge gave N.C. State the lead for good with 1:29 remaining in the first half.
N.C. State is on the road against North Carolina on Saturday. Georgia Tech hosts Syracuse on Saturday.
