Wake Forest guard Cameron Hildrez, right, defends against Clemson guard Dillon Hen during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 17 in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Associated Press
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Tyree Appleby scored 24 points to help Wake Forest beat 19th-ranked Clemson 87-77 on Tuesday night, ending the Tigers’ unexpectedly perfect start to the ACC.
The Demon Deacons (14-5, 6-2 ACC) won their fourth straight game and were in the lead after a minute into the game. They did this by working aggressively in the paint, getting to the free throw line and knocking down their openings from behind the 3-point line, a combination that kept them in control of the game all night and kept the Tigers in catch-up mode.
Cameron Hildrez had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest, which jumped to a double-digit lead midway through the first half and quickly doubled the lead after the break to 15 minutes.
The Tigers (15-4, 7-1) came close to six points twice in the second half, the last of which was a 3-point foul on Hunter Tyson’s counter-attack dunk with 2:07 left.
But as possession was cut short afterwards, Hildrez took a drive off Davyn Williamson and calmly hit a straight 3-pointer for an 80-71 lead as Wake Forest maintained control.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Tyson had 19 points and 14 rebounds. With an ankle injury, the Tigers shot 42 percent without a No. 2 scorer in pursuit of Hunter.
The Tigers also managed just two field goals in about 9 1/2 minutes of clutch time heading into the game, with Wake Forest barely holding on to the lead.
Wake Forest shot 46 percent from the field, made nine 3-pointers and got to the free throw line 33 times (22 made), while Clemson attempted just 14 free throws.
big picture
Clemson: With their first-ever 7-0 start, the Tigers set a program record for 11 straight regular-season wins in the league. A weekend home win over then-ranked Duke was enough to catapult the Tigers into Monday’s latest AP Top 25 ranking for the first time this season. But after Brevin Galloway’s opening layup, the Tigers led by just 29 seconds.
WAKE FOREST: Steve Forbes leads the Demon Deacon team to big gains in Year 3. It marked the third straight double-digit win for a team that already has wins over Duke and Wisconsin on its resume. That allows the Demon Deacons to position themselves as the group that barely escaped their NCAA tournament bid last year — and it also attracts a vibrant home crowd, struggling after the program’s long run of years of uneven performance.
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Clemson: Host Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Wake Forest: Hosts No. 10 Virginia on Saturday.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
