By Ron Pitts for Urban Media Today
The 5th-seed Clemson Tigers(22-9) take on 13th-seed Wake Forest Demon Deacons(17-15) in the 2nd Round of the ACC Tournament.
Clemson got off to a fast start with a combination of strong defense forcing 7 turnovers which turned into 12 points and an offensive clinic in the 1st half. Clemson shot 50% from three point range on 9-18 shooting. Coach Brad Brownell sent different waves at Coach Steve Forbes Demon Deacons’ in the first half pushing the Tigers biggest lead to 18 points. The way Coach Brownell managed his rotation it seemed like Clemson had 10 players on the court at a time the way they were attacking Wake Forest with their defensive game plan. The Tigers closed out the 1st half with a 41-23 lead over the Demon Deacons. Coach Brownell credited his team defense and three point shooting for their first half success.
There was a scary moment for Clemson right before half when #22 Carter Welling went down with an apparent knee injury as he was driving to the basket. Welling did not return for second half play, and Coach Brownell said he wasn’t sure about his availability for the rest of the tournament.
Clemson 1st half leaders:
Chase Thompson with 7 points
Carter Welling and RJ Godfrey both with 4 rebounds
Ace Buckner with 3 assist
However it was a tail of two halves.
The Demon Deacons went on a 9-0 run and got it down to an 11 point deficit on 4-6 three point shooting with 10:05 left in the game; until #11 Nick Davidson got hot for the Tigers with 6 straight points in the paint pushing the lead back to 14.
The Tigers went cold from three point range in the second half. That’s when they switched gears and started playing their game in the paint.
Down the stretch Clemson struggled on offense and the free throw line allowing Wake Forest to get back into the game and reducing the Tigers lead to 8. With 1:25 left #21 Ace Buckner made a huge offensive play shaking 2 defenders to drive to the basket for a layup pushing the lead back to 10.
When the Tigers offense struggled in the second half; Coach Brownell went to his bread and butter and relied on his strong defense and rebounding to close out the game and advance to the ACC Quarterfinals with a 72-61 win over Steve Forbes Demon Deacons. They will face #4 seed North Carolina Tar Heels.
Clemson final game leaders:
Points: RJ Godfrey 11
Rebounds: RJ Godfrey 8
Assist: Ace Buckner 3
Butta Johnson 3
