Devon Daniels scored 21 points and North Carolina State withstood rallies from No. 17 North Carolina to collect a 79-76 victory Tuesday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack (5-1), which had stretches of stellar offensive rebounding, used a 14-2 run in the second half after North Carolina (5-3) nearly erased a 17-point deficit.

North Carolina's streak of seven consecutive road victories against NC State came to a halt.

NC State's Shakeel Moore, a freshman playing in the rivalry for the first time, scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half. Wolfpack center Manny Bates posted 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

For North Carolina, Armando Bacot poured in 16 points, Caleb Love and RJ Davis each tallied 11 points and Garrison Brooks had 10 points.

Love's two free throws with 10.1 seconds left trimmed the gap to 78-76. Daniels then made the first of a two-shot free-throw attempt before Davis and Love missed 3-point attempts just prior to the buzzer. North Carolina finished 2-for-12 from 3-point range.

NC State led 46-29 in the first half, but the Tar Heels closed the half on a 9-0 run to close within 49-42. North Carolina then scored the first basket of the second half.

The Tar Heels had a few possessions with a chance to take the lead around the midway mark of the second half but failed to convert on those. When Braxton Beverly drained a 3-pointer, the Wolfpack stretched the lead back to 75-64.

The Tar Heels closed within 77-73 with less than three minutes to play.

The Wolfpack's 11-for-20 success rate on free throws nearly was costly.

NC State shot 52.8 percent from the field in the first half but North Carolina kept pace at 51.5 percent.

Freshman guard Cam Hayes returned to action for the Wolfpack after a two-game absence, and he scored seven points. However, the team was without DJ Funderburk, who provides a low-post presence, for the third straight game.

This was NC State's third game in a six-day stretch following a two-week layoff caused by coronavirus issues.

--Field Level Media