updated 9:03 a.m. ET March 7, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. - Chris Paul’s last-second basket hardly seemed to be his biggest shot of the game.

The sophomore hit a buzzer-beating runner to lift fourth-ranked Wake Forest past the North Carolina State 55-53 on Sunday night, keeping the Demon Deacons in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

He also had hit Wolfpack star Julius Hodge below the belt in the first half, a shot that led to speculation on whether Paul will be available for the Demon Deacons’ next game.

Either way, the feisty point guard was the center of attention.

Paul finished with nine points and six assists for the Demon Deacons (26-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won 10 of 11 games and tied the school record for victories overall and in conference play.

Justin Gray added 15 points and a clutch tying 3-pointer to set up Paul’s final shot, allowing the Demon Deacons to overcome a determined effort by a team desperate to improve its NCAA resume.

Wake Forest shot just 29 percent in the second half, going without a field goal for 10 minutes, but still pulled it out on Paul and Gray’s big shots.

And on the same day top-ranked Illinois, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 6 Duke and No. 7 Kansas all lost, the Demon Deacons saw an opportunity.

“We saw everybody losing earlier,” Gray said. “We thought that might’ve opened the door a little bit more (for a No. 1 seed) and gave us a chance right here to make a move up. I think everybody knew that and that’s why we fought the whole game.”

With the Wolfpack (17-12, 7-9) leading 53-50, Gray nailed a 3 right in front of the Wake Forest bench with 12.8 seconds left. Engin Atsur tried to answer with a hurried 3-pointer that fell well short of the rim and out of bounds, giving the Demon Deacons the ball with 4.2 seconds left.

Paul did the rest. He inbounded the ball to Vytas Danelius, who sent it right back. Paul then weaved through the retreating Wolfpack defenders, bounced off a bump from Atsur and launched a fadeaway shot from about 12 feet.

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