Tyree Appleby scored 24 points as Wake Forest notched its second win of the season over a ranked opponent, topping No. 19 Clemson 87-77 on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Appleby shot 6 of 14 from the floor and had seven assists, five steals and three rebounds for the Demon Deacons (14-5, 6-2 ACC), who won their fourth straight game and avenged a 20-point loss at Clemson in December. Andrew Carr added 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Cameron Hildreth (10 rebounds) and Damari Monsanto each tallied 17 points. The foursome scored all but 11 of Wake's points.
Clemson (15-4, 7-1 ACC) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped and suffered its first loss in conference play. PJ Hall led the Tigers with 22 points while Hunter Tyson added 19 points and 14 rebounds. Brevin Galloway chipped in 16 points while Chauncey Wiggins had 10.
Chase Hunter, Clemson's second-leading scorer this season (14.0 points per game) and starting point guard, did not play due to a foot injury.
Wake Forest nearly led wire-to-wire, taking the lead 58 seconds after the opening tip on a 3-pointer from Appleby and never relinquishing it. The Deacs led by as much as 11 points in the first half, taking the double-digit advantage after a 15-6 run that was capped off by a 3-pointer from Monsanto that was assisted by Appleby.
The Deacs shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half and connected on 6 of 12 shots from behind the arc. Wake also turned eight offensive rebounds in the first half into 10 second-chance points.
Wake opened the second half with a 9-4 run to take a 15-point lead, its largest of the game. Appleby had four points and an assist during that stretch.
The Deacs won despite missing 11 free throws. Key for Wake was forcing Clemson into 11 turnovers and turning them into 14 points.
Clemson shot 46.6 percent from the floor in the second half, but the hole the Tigers were in proved to be too deep from which to climb. Not even a 7-0 second half run could help Clemson. In the second half, the Tigers never got closer than six points.
Wake Forest is now 21-6 all-time at LJVM Coliseum against Clemson.
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