Clemson Falls to Wake Forest, 56-44
Courtesy Clemson AthleticsWINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Clemson University men’s basketball team was on the losing end of a 56-44 decision at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the Tigers, snapping Clemson’s 7-game winning streak against Wake Forest.
Clemson (11-10, 5-6) shot 30.5 percent from the floor and pulled down 39 rebounds. Wake Forest (10-11, 3-8) produced a shooting percentage of 34.5 and totaled 42 rebounds. The Demon Deacons also went 11-for-16 at the free throw line and scored 16 points off turnovers. The Tigers tallied 17 points off the bench, including six points on a pair of 3-pointers by Alex Hemenway. Aamir Simms was Clemson’s leading scorer with 14 points to go along with his eight boards. Andrien White led Wake Forest with 17 points.
The first half was a defensive battle, with the two teams combining to go 2-for-20 from 3-point range. Clemson took a 15-12 lead via a 3-point play by John Newman III. Newman, who scored seven points on the night, drew a foul while making an impressive up-and-under layup and sank the ensuing free throw. Wake Forest went on to lead 22-19 at the intermission, though, and started off the second half with a 14-0 run. The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run of their own, but the Demon Deacons pulled away down the stretch and won 56-44.
Clemson will head to Charlottesville, Va., for its next outing, with the Tigers slated to face the Virginia Cavaliers (14-6, 6-4) at John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The ACC tilt, which will air on a regional sports network (RSN), is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
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POSTGAME QUOTESHead Coach Brad BrownellOpening statement:“Tonight was very disappointing. That was a poor offensive performance by us. I thought we started the game off well against the zone. We needed to knock down more shots. We also needed to drive it more. We needed to move, attack gaps and make plays.”
On the keys to the game:“[Wake Forest] probably made an adjustment or two after our guys got confidence from knocking down some early shots. Our guys have to do a better job of playing out of concepts and making reads. I thought we made poor passes tonight. We didn’t help ourselves with our passing. I told our players after the game that I thought we fought really hard. Defensively, we were better than when we beat [Wake Forest] at home.
On his takeaways from Clemson’s performance:“There are still offensive woes with this team. Nobody could get a hot hand for us. Our defense was good enough. We guarded [Brandon] Childress really well. [Andrien] White made a couple of big threes against us, but we should’ve had a chance to win. Sometimes, it’s just a make-or-miss game. You’ve got to make shots, and we couldn’t make enough shots to put game pressure on Wake Forest.’
