Devon Daniels scored 20 points before leaving with a leg injury, and North Carolina State rode a dominating defensive performance before holding off visiting Wake Forest, 72-67, on Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack halted a four-game losing streak in part because it benefited from 19 Wake Forest turnovers.

Daniels shot 7-for-10 from the field, making three 3-point shots, before departing with an apparent noncontact ailment in the second half.

Jericole Hellems added 17 points for the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), which won for the first time in 2021.

Daivien Williamson provided 22 points, Ismael Massoud notched 13 points and Ody Oguama had 11 points for Wake Forest (4-7, 1-7), which shot 41.4 percent from the field. The shooting woes were particularly pronounced beyond the 3-point arc with an 8-for-24 mark from long range.

The Demon Deacons were coming off their only ACC victory of the season, but they were in danger of becoming blowout victims until a late surge. Williamson connected on four 3-point shots in the last 3 1/2 minutes.

NC State built a 32-21 halftime lead. The Wolfpack stretched that to 53-34 nine minutes into the second half.

Wake Forest scored nine straight points to close to within 58-52 -- the last of those points on a Williamson 3-pointer -- at the 3 1/2 -minute mark.

Hellems answered with a jumper to thwart the run. From there, the Wolfpack mostly relied on free throws as Williamson fired away from deep.

NC State made 8 of 10 foul shots in the last 2:20.

Wake Forest scored 34 points in the game's first 29 minutes. It had 33 points in the last 11 minutes.

The Wolfpack blocked eight shots, including three rejections by center Manny Bates.

NC State received 24 points from its reserves, including nine from Shakeel Moore and eight from DJ Funderburk.

--Field Level Media