ATLANTA -- Eric Hayes scored a career-high 21 points, including six free throws in the final 2:08, and Maryland took control with a late 11-0 run to beat North Carolina State 74-69 in the ACC tournament on Thursday night.
N.C. State, which led by 13 points in the first half, held its last lead at 62-61 with 4:12 left. Maryland answered with 11 straight points, including five free throws by Hayes.
Hayes set a season high with five 3-pointers.
Greivis Vasquez had 17 points and 10 assists for Maryland (19-12), which boosted its NCAA tournament hopes.
Julius Mays led N.C. State (16-14) with 18 points. Ben McCauley had 14 points and Dennis Horner had 11.
Maryland will face No. 2 seed Wake Forest in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
Maryland coach Gary Williams said two ACC tournament victories should leave the Terrapins in "good shape" for the NCAA tournament.
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Dave Neal added 10 points for the Terrapins.
N.C. State led 21-8 midway through the first half before Hayes and the Terrapins began catching up with 3-pointers. Hayes made three straight 3s and Cliff Tucker added another 3 -- all within a span of 5 minutes -- as Maryland stormed back with a 20-4 run to lead 28-25 before settling for a 29-29 halftime tie.
Maryland shot only 39.3 percent from the field in the first half despite making 4 of 7 3-point attempts.
Vasquez was held to four points in the first half, but he scored Maryland's first two field goals after the break and Hayes added another 3-pointer to give the Terrapins a 39-34 lead.
N.C. State answered to trade leads with Maryland for several minutes before a layup by Sean Mosley gave the Terrapins a 63-62 advantage with 3:50 remaining. Vasquez followed with his first 3-pointer.
Courtney Fells, who missed the last game of the regular season with a groin injury, was back in N.C. State's starting lineup, but scored only four points.
