Terry Henderson and Dennis Smith Jr. combined for 39 points to finally get NC State back in the win column after nearly a month. The 71-69 win at Georgia Tech snaps a six-game losing streak that dated back to the Jan. 23 upset at Duke.The Wolfpack seemed to put the game away with a late 12-2 run, capped by Maverick Rowan’s 3-pointer, that gave it a 62-48 lead with 3:09 left. But Georgia Tech came back and pulled to within a point on a 3-pointer from Tadric Jackson with four seconds left.Jackson missed a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.Smith and Henderson each had three 3-point baskets, with two of Smith’s coming just before the shot clock expired when the Pack tried to milk the clock and protect its lead. Henderson was 7-for-11 from the field and Smith was 6-for-13.NC State (15-14, 4-12 ACC) got a game-high 10 rebounds from Abdul-Malik Abu, including three offensive boards to give the Pack a 13-7 edge in that department. Georgia Tech (16-12, 7-8 ACC) was led by Josh Okogie with 25 points, Jackson with 17 points and Quinton Stephens with 11 points and nine rebounds. Ben Lammers, the team’s leading scorer, was limited to six points and was 1-for-9 from the field, but accounted for a game-high four blocks — one more than NC State as a whole.Henderson sparked a 10-2 run in the second half when he drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and a short jump shot. That, followed by a Ted Kapita jumper, gave the Wolfpack a 29-20 lead with 5:21 left in the half. Henderson had 12 and Smith scored 10 in the first half, which State led 39-30.Georgia Tech was able to stay close thanks to Okogie. The freshman scored 14 points to offset the poor half experienced by Lammers, who was held to one point. NC State returns home on Saturday to play Virginia in coach Mark Gottfried’s final contest at PNC Arena. After pulling off a win against the surprising Yellow Jackets, the Pack will look to cap off the Gottfried era by snapping a four-game losing streak at home.
