The No. 5 Clemson Tigers ended No. 13 Wake Forest’s ACC Tournament run 71-62 on Wednesday night in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
Wake Forest advanced to the second round of the ACC Tournament after an overtime win against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Tuesday night. Wednesday’s game marked the second matchup between the Demon Deacons and the Clemson Tigers this season. Wake Forest won the first meeting 85-77. In fact, the Demon Deacons built a lead as large as 20 points during the Feb. 18 game at the Joel.
However, Clemson flipped the script.
The first half was sloppy for the Demon Deacons. Wake struggled on both sides of the ball and was severely outplayed by the Tigers. It appeared head coach Steve Forbes had no answer to Clemson’s 3-point shooting or second-chance points.
Despite improved shooting from Juke Harris, careless turnovers and an inability to make crucial shots left Wake Forest trailing 41-23 at halftime.
RJ Godfrey led Clemson with 11 points and eight rebounds, the only Tiger to score in double figures. With 10 players logging at least 10 minutes and scoring at least 3 points each, Clemson’s balanced effort proved too much for a tired Wake Forest team to overcome.
The second half did not show much improvement. The Demon Deacons were never able to take back the lead, with the smallest deficit at 8 points. Wake Forest did not exhibit the same all-around team play they displayed against Virginia Tech.
Harris led Wake Forest with 22 points, but it was not enough to advance the Demon Deacons to the quarterfinals. Myles Colvin and Sebastian Akins scored just 0 and 2 points, respectively, after posting 18 and 14 points the previous night. Nate Calmese, however, caught fire in the second half and finished with 20 points. Tre’Von Spillers recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Clemson will take on the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.
As for the Demon Deacons, all hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid have been squashed. Forbes and Wake Forest will need to put in the work for a bounce-back season and a return to March Madness contention.
