Senior guard Andre Young had his second straight big game in leading Clemson to the win
Clemson overcame a horrendous start in which it made just 2 of its first 16 shots and defeated Wake Forest 71-60 Saturday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum. It’s the Tigers’ second straight ACC win and it improves their league mark to 3-3. They are 11-9 overall. Wake Forest drops to 11-10 and 2-5. The Demon Deacons have lost five of their last six games.
And the victory is noteworthy for Clemson coach Brad Brownell. It was the 200th win of his career against 106 defeats.
AUDIO: Brad Brownell post game press conference
AUDIO: Jeff Bzdelik post game press conference
The Tigers were sluggish out of the gate for the noon start and fell behind 12-4 in the first eight minutes. But there full court pressure started to bother the Demon Deacons, and the Tigers also started to find the range on their shots. After the woeful early shooting, the Tigers hit 12 of their last 19 shots, including a three pointer by Tanner Smith at the buzzer, to take a 36-29 lead into the break.
Wake made an early second half move and trailed 38-35 two minutes into the final frame, but Clemson went on a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes to open up a working margin. The Tigers maintained a double digit lead lead the rest of the way.
Andre Young led the Tigers with 19 points. He also had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. The Tigers had just 8 turnovers, their second lowest total of the season.
Booker was strong inside
Devin Booker added 16 points and 7 rebounds and Smith totaled 13 points with 4 steals and 3 assists. The Tigers also got a lift from Bryan Narcisse who had a career high 11 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.
Narcisse, who graduated in December but was not able to attend ceremonies because he was on a road trip with the team, was, along with Tanner Smith, presented with his diploma by university president Dr. James Barker during a pre-game ceremony.
CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points, his 20th straight game scoring in double figures.
AUDIO: Andre Young post game comments
AUDIO: Devin Booker post game comments
AUDIO: Bryan Narcisse post game comments
The Tigers forced 15 turnovers which they converted into 19 points. They had 10 steals, tieing their season high, four of them by Smith.
Clemson will be at Virginia Tuesday night for a 7:00 PM tip. Wake Forest returns home Tuesday night for a 9:00 PM battle with North Carolina.
