Blacksburg, VA (Best E Casino) - Ben McCauley scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, and North Carolina State used a balanced scoring attack to upset 16th-ranked Virginia Tech, 70-59, at Cassell Coliseum.

McCauley finished 10-of-14 from the floor and was one of four players in double figures for the Wolfpack (12-8, 2-5 ACC), who snapped a two-game slide.

Gavin Grant chipped in 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Engin Atsur had 14 points and Courtney Fells ended with 11 for North Carolina State. Brandon Costner, the only starter not in double digits, ended with nine points and 11 boards as the Wolfpack shot 53 percent in the contest.

Zabian Dowdell, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, scored a team-high 16 points for Virginia Tech (16-6, 6-2), which had its three-game winning streak halted. The Hokies had won seven of their last eight entering the contest.

Jamon Gordon and Deron Washington had 12 points apiece for Virginia Tech. Washington also finished with eight rebounds.

Fells' bucket gave the Wolfpack a 10-point edge, 26-16, at 5:22. The Hokies then answered with four straight points to make it 26-22 with 3:01 to play in the first half.

North Carolina State went up 30-22 on Atsur's jumper at 1:46 and carried a 30-28 lead into the locker room.

Virginia Tech nabbed its first lead of the contest, 35-34, on Lewis Witcher's jumper in the paint at 17:28.

The Wolfpack forged ahead, however, and held a 42-36 lead on McCauley's layup at 14:44.

The Hokies couldn't make a game of it down the stretch. They pulled within two, 55-53, on Gordon's layup at 4:36, but never got any closer as the Wolfpack continued to pull away.

Costner's trey upped the margin to 58-53, while Dowdell couldn't get a layup to fall at the other end. Grant then hit two from the charity stripe for North Carolina State, and McCauley followed with a layup off Vassall's missed jumper for the Hokies, giving the Wolfpack a 64-55 edge.

North Carolina State ran away with the game at the end, holding the 11-point margin at the final buzzer.

The Hokies finished the game shooting 35 percent (21-of-60).

Game Notes

The Wolfpack leads the all-time series, 31-10...N.C. State did not get a point from its bench, while Virginia Tech had 17 bench points...The Wolfpack won the battle of the boards, 42-29.