RALEIGH, N.C. _ Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton made one smart strategic adjustment at halftime and one adjustment that every coach wishes he could make.
The Seminoles, No. 15 in the NET rankings, used a zone defense and more importantly discovered their shooting touch after falling behind by five points at the half.
Patrick Williams and M.J. Walker led Hamilton's cadre of interchangeable athletic parts with 12 points each in a 67-61 road win over N.C. State on Saturday afternoon.
The Noles (23-4, 13-3 ACC) were ice cold from everywhere in the first half _ 10 of 27 overall and 3 of 12 from the 3-point line. FSU made 10 of its first 17 shots of the second half to surge in front and control the game down the stretch.
N.C. State (17-10, 8-8), coming off Wednesday's dominant performance over Duke, came out sharp and led throughout most of the first half.
The Wolfpack's advantage was 32-27 at the half. Hamilton decided to go zone, for about the first 10 minutes of the second half, and it was just enough of a tweak to interrupt the Wolfpack's flow on offense.
The Noles' surge was aided by N.C. State forward D.J. Funderburk picking up his fourth foul at 16:53. It also helped that Walker, who was limited because of foul trouble in the first half, scored all 12 of his points after the break.
N.C. State had a glimmer of hope when junior guard Braxton Beverly made a 3-point shot, to cut FSU's lead to 49-46, and was fouled at 10:52 but Beverly missed the free throw.
Devin Vassell's 3, after a Markell Johnson layup made it 50-48 at 10:07, put a virtual stranglehold on the game for FSU.
After scoring a career-high 28 points in the 88-66 win over Duke on Wednesday, Johnson had seven points. Junior guard Devon Daniels led the Wolfpack with 14 points.
Frustrated by the officiating, N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts picked up his first technical foul of the season when Johnson drove and did not get a foul call at 9:21.
Referee Lee Cassell called the technical on Keatts and Patrick Williams made both free throws that went with it.
At 8:08, Keatts called a timeout to try to settle down but he spent the bulk of the stoppage staring at Cassell from just outside the huddle.
Cassell, standing about 20 feet away, never looked at Keatts. The Noles didn't look back, either, to pick up the road win and keep pace Louisville and Duke in the ACC race.
