Freshman Scott Wood nets 31 as Wolfpack grab 88-81 road victory at No. 25 Florida State

Wood, NC State take 88-81 victory at Fla. State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Scott Wood scored a career-high 31 points to lead North Carolina State to an 88-81 upset of No. 25 Florida State on Tuesday night, spoiling the Atlantic Coast Conference home opener for the Seminoles.

The Wolfpack (12-5, 1-2 ACC) hit 11 of 23 3-pointers with Wood connecting on 7 of 11 attempts from behind the arc. Farnold Degand added 13 points and Julius Mays 12, including 10 straight free throws for the winners.

N.C. State rode an early 16-1 run to take a 23-12 lead as Florida State went 6:33 between field goals. The Wolfpack never trailed afterward, building their largest lead at 48-35 on a Dennis Horner 3-point shot early in the second half.

Chris Singleton scored 15 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to lead Florida State (13-4 1-2) which lost its second league game in three days.

Solomon Alabi and Derwin Kitchen added 15 points each for the Seminoles while Ryan Reid and freshman Michael Snaer had 12 apiece.

Every time Florida State appeared to get back into the game, Wood would drill another long range shot. The Seminoles closed to 56-51 with 8:40 left on Deividas Dulkys lone 3-pointer of the night and Wood countered with a jumper just inside the arc.

In addition to hitting 10 of 15 shots, Wood also had seven rebounds to help N.C. State to a 37-28 advantage over the taller Seminoles.

A freshman whose previous career high was 15 points, the 6-foot-7 Wood scored 13 points in the first half as the Wolfpack built a 38-31 lead while outrebounding a taller Florida State team 18-12.

Singleton and N.C. State’s Tracy Smith shared rebound honors with eight apiece.

N.C. State made 29 of 35 free throws in the game where 53 personal fouls were whistled, including 34 in the second half.