Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Clemson
Clemson Tops Wake Forest, 63-49
2/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2011
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CLEMSON, S.C. - Nikita Mescheriakov scored a career-high 11 points for Wake Forest, but Clemson pulled away midway through the first half and held on for a 63-49 defeat of the Demon Deacons on Saturday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Tigers (19-9, 8-6 ACC) overcame an early Wake Forest lead with a 14-2 run that saw six different Tigers score during the stretch. Clemson also held the Deacons to just 24.1 percent (7-for-29) shooting in building a 33-20 halftime advantage.
Wake Forest (8-21, 2-13 ACC) was able to get the deficit to single digits early in the second half but ultimately could not put together a game-saving run.
Mescheriakov turned in his most productive outing in a Wake Forest uniform, scoring his most points since tallying 11 for Georgetown in a game at Villanova in 2009.
J.T. Terrell battled foul trouble to score nine points. Gary Clark led the Deacons with four assists and three steals on the afternoon. Travis McKie pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Deacons shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) for the game and went 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the floor, including 6-for-18 from three-point range.
Clemson narrowly won the turnover battle, 14-15. The Deacons had 11 turnovers in the first half and just four in the second. Wake Forest out-rebounded Clemson, 38-37.
Jerai Grant and Demontez Stitt led the Tigers with 14 points apiece, while Devin Booker recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The game remained tight in the early minutes until Clemson gradually started to pull away. With Wake Forest holding a 9-8 lead after a C.J. Harris free throw, the Tigers scored six straight points en route to a 14-2 run over a seven-minute span for a 22-11 advantage at the 8:48 mark.
After a dunk from Ty Walker cut the deficit to eight at 25-17, the Tigers rattled off eight consecutive points to claim their largest lead of the first half, 33-17 at the 3:56 mark. Clemson took a 33-20 advantage into halftime.
Wake Forest outscored Clemson 10-6 in the opening minutes of the second half to cut the Tigers' lead to single digits at 39-30. A three-point play from Gary Clark and a three-pointer from J.T. Terrell sparked the run for the Deacons.
However, Clemson followed with a three-point play from Jerai Grant to push it lead back up to 12, 42-30, at the 15:27 mark. The Deacons could not get closer than 10 the rest of the way.
The loss snaps Wake Forest's three-game winning streak over Clemson and marks the Tigers' first win in the series since the 2007-08 season. The Deacons lead the all-time series 98-53.
Wake Forest returns to action on Thursday, March 3, when the Deacons host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for Senior Night. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Wake Forest will honor seniors Gary Clark and Denmore McDermott, as well as student managers Win Joyner and Alex Matthews, in a pre-game ceremony.
The game will be televised on the ACC Network and can also be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College and at WakeForestSports.com.
