The Clemson Tigers lose their final game of the regular season, falling to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night by a score of 81-76.
Clemson (21-10, 11-9 ACC) came into the weekend as the No. 4 seed in the ACC, but following a close loss to the Demon Deacons, the Tigers have the potential to drop out of the double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
The Tigers mounted a strong comeback at the beginning of the second half, but Wake Forest responded emphatically down the stretch, scoring 12 of their final 13 field goal attempts to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
12 lead changes were shared between the two squads, with Clemson trailing from behind for a majority of the game. The Demon Deacons (19-12, 11-9 ACC) were able to get the best of the Tigers throughout the first half, leading for most of the half and going into the break leading by six points.
Head coach Brad Brownell and his squad were able to inch their way back in it, with forward Jack Clark nailing a corner 3-pointer to give Clemson their first lead since the 14:37 mark of the first half.
While the Tigers had one of their best scoring halves as a squad, scoring 48 points in the final frame of the game, they were unable to hold Wake Forest on the other side, allowing 47 of their own en route to a high-scoring second half.
Despite the loss, the Tigers saw four scorers score double-digits, continuing to show their wide range of success from their players. Center PJ Hall led the way for the team, scoring 18 points in what seems to be his final regular season game as a Tiger. 16 of those 18 points were in the second half.
Chase Hunter had a strong second half as well, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest. He also added two assists.
Guard Joseph Girard III would add 14 points of his own, only sinking two of his eight 3-point attempts. The graduate transfer will hope to see better success if the Tigers are going to make a deep postseason run in the next few weeks. Clark would score ten points also.
On the other side, Wake’s Hunter Sallis would score a game-high 22 points, grabbing seven rebounds as well in a season-saving win for the Demon Deacons. Three other scorers would also reach double-digits for the team.
Clemson will now await their ACC Tournament berth, with the team set to find out when they play first after the games conclude on Saturday night.
