Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Basketball Defeats North Carolina State, 71-57
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Mar. 1, 1998
Box ScoreWINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Tony Rutland scored a career-high 28 points in his final home game as Wake Forest rolled past North Carolina State 71-57 Sunday in the final Atlantic Coast Conference game of the regular season.
The Demon Deacons (15-12, 7-9 ACC) broke open a close game with under eight minutes to play on the shoulders of Rutland and another senior guard, Jerry Braswell.
Rutland's two free throws started a string of 14 attempts from the line in the final 3:40. The Demon Deacons hit 12 of those free throws to secure the win.
Braswell, regulated to spot duty for most of this season, scored 16 points. The team's third senior guard, Steven Goolsby, got into early foul trouble and played 24 minutes with no points.
The win pushed the Demon Deacons into a tie for fourth place with Clemson. Wake Forest earned the No. 4 seed in this week's ACC tournament because of a tie-breaker and plays Clemson Friday.
N.C. State (15-13, 5-11) finished the regular season eighth in the ACC and will be the eighth-seed at the tournament. The Wolfpack will play seventh-seed Florida State on Thursday.
With 6:23 to go in the game, Braswell hit a 3-pointer to give the Demon Deacons a 57-45 lead. Later, Rutland hit two free throws with 2:07 for his final two points and a 63-49 lead.
The Wolfpack struggled from long range, going just 3 of 17 from 3-point range.
Kenny Inge led the Wolfpack with 14 points and 12 rebounds and Ishua Benjamin added 12 points. C.C. Harrison, who also scored 12 points, missed his first eight shots in the second half and went 2 for 10 from the field in the period.
