This was supposed to be the big night for senior point guard Engin Atsur. Bryan Nieman, another senior who has started five games this basketball season and been a key reserve, also was sure to receive a nice ovation on Senior Night at the RBC Center.

But NCSU coach Sidney Lowe also wanted Clark in the starting lineup. The 6-foot-4 senior, a former walk-on from Charlotte, has been one of the Pack's hardest workers in practice, and Lowe said he had earned the right to play.

"There are things that are bigger than these games," Lowe said. "This is a special day for those young men. And to have your name announced as a starter, in the ACC, at N.C. State -- that's something he can take that with him for the rest of his life."

The Pack would win 73-66. And it would be Clark who was a most unlikely hero.

Clark got the assist on State's first basket with a neat feed to Ben McCauley. Moments later, he came up with a steal, leading to another basket.

Spotting up near the free-throw line, Clark was open for a 15-foot jumper. After a pass from Brandon Costner, he never hesitated in draining the shot for a 13-4 lead.

"It was exciting to be out there," said Clark, who played high school ball in Artesia, N.M., before moving with his parents to Charlotte. "The team goal was to send Engin out with a win.

"I had been working out with the first team this week, but I wasn't sure if I'd start. They let me know 15 minutes before the game. I was little surprised, but I was ready for it."

Costner scored a game-high 19 points, hitting 10 of 11 free throws, and McCauley bounced back from two sub-par games with 17 points for State (15-13, 5-10 ACC). Clark played 22 minutes -- perhaps 20 more than he expected. He had six points, four assists and a steal -- that after playing just five mop-up minutes in four games this season.

"I heard my mom yelling," Clark said, smiling. "It was pretty cool. It was over and beyond what it started as."

Atsur, who missed 12 games with a pulled hamstring this season, finished with eight points and six rebounds in his last scheduled home game.

"It was emotional," he said. "I usually keep my emotions under control, but I couldn't help it."

And the Pack, which used 55.6 percent shooting to build a 37-26 lead at the half, faced some uneasy moments in the second half after Atsur picked up his fourth foul. State led 46-33 when Atsur was called for charging with 12:30 left, but the Deacons (13-15, 4-11) quickly moved to six points down.

But Courtney Fells hit a 3-pointer. And with 9:27 left, the Pack pushed the lead to 51-42 on a layup by, yes, Clark.

"We don't win the game without Clark," Lowe said.

Lowe grinned, saying, "I didn't know he'd play as well as he did."

Clark worked hard on defense, hustling, using his 215 pounds well. Matched against 6-foot-8 Jamie Skeen and 6-6 Michael Drum, he held his own.

The Deacs were hurt by spotty shooting -- 28.1 percent in the first half and 33.8 percent for the game. And leading scorer Kyle Visser, a senior center, missed the second half with what Wake coach Skip Prosser said was a stomach virus and Visser said was a hip-pointer.

Skeen (11 points, 14 rebounds) attacked the boards with a fury, but the Deacons made too many mistakes this night.

"You have to just about play a perfect game in order to win on the road, and we didn't do that," Prosser said.

Prosser was so angry in the second half that he yanked off his suit jacket. He did it after the Deacs' Kevin Swinton was called for an offensive foul -- for pushing Clark.

The Pack had lost its previous four Senior Day games and was 1-6 at the RBC Center before Wednesday. But Atsur, Nieman and Clark are 1-0.

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