Wake Forest University
14-5,6-2ACC
Clemson
15-4,7-1ACC
Deacs Hand No. 19 Clemson First Conference Loss of the Season, Stay Undefeated at Home
1/18/2023 12:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tuesday night involved several remarkable feats for Wake Forest.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Boosted behind an energetic crowd and looking to continue its win streak, the Wake Forest men's basketball team had a successful rematch against No. 19 Clemson (15-4, 7-1), handing the Tigers their first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) loss during a 87-77 victory.
It was the Demon Deacons' (14-5, 6-2) second win over a Top-25 team this season – the first such feat for the program since the 2013-14 campaign.
Additionally, Wake Forest moved to 10-0 in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum this winter. This season marks the first time the team has had back-to-back 10-0 home starts in program history. The Deacs' 28-2 home record over the past two years stands as the best mark of any ACC member school.
Tyree Appleby was a force from the opening tip, ending with a line of 24 points, seven assists, and five steals while playing all 40 minutes and leading all scorers. It was the graduate guard's seventh season game of over 20 points. Appleby's five steals were a new career high.
Tuesday night also involved the Deacs having two players tally double-figures. Andrew Carr had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Cameron Hildreth totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds. Carr added three assists and continued his efficiency, going 7-of-12 on field goal attempts. It was the junior forward's second consecutive double-double.
Damari Monsanto chipped in 17 points and a 60.0 field goal percentage.
The Deacon defense held Clemson to just 29.6 three-point shooting percentage clip. It was the Tigers' third-lowest mark in a conference contest this year. Offensively, Wake Forest's collective 45.9 percent from the field is the highest shooting percentage Clemson has allowed in conference play and third-highest by a Clemson opponent this season.
The Deacs' six turnovers were the lowest amount ever in a single game in the Steve Forbes era thus far.
Wake Forest remains home this weekend to host No. 10 Virginia Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the game will air live on ESPN2 or ESPNU. Tickets for both games can be purchased here.
Standout Stats
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With the 87-77 win on Tuesday night over Clemson, Wake Forest has now started 10-0 at home for the second season in a row and just the second time since 2013-14 when the Deacs went 12-0.
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This season marks the first time the Deacs' have had back-to-back 10-0 home starts in program history.
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It was Wake Forest's second win over a Top-25 team this season – the first such feat for the program since the 2013-14 campaign.
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Andrew Carr went for his second straight double-double, tallying 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.
How It Happened
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Carr opened the scoring for Wake Forest with a put-back layup at the 19:27 mark.
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Appleby gave the Deacs their first lead of the contest on the next possession with a pull-up three.
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The lead guard knocked down his second triple of the contest to put Wake Forest up four with 17:42 left in the first half.
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Hildreth earned his way to the line and connected on all three free throw attempts for his first points of the game.
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Carr sent Wake Forest into the media timeout with an and-one layup before converting the three-point play to give the Deacs a 14-9 lead at the 15:36 mark.
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Hildreth fought his way to the rim on consecutive possessions for a pair of layups to extend the lead to six.
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Appleby capped off a 6-0 run with a driving layup with 13:25 remaining in the half.
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Monsanto connected on a turnaround jumper for his first basket of the contest.
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Wake Forest made six of its last eight field goals and held Clemson to one of its last nine at this point.
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Appleby reached double-digit scoring with 10:19 remaining in the first half with a driving layup.
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Monsanto gave Wake Forest an 11-point lead with his first triple of the game off an assist from Appleby.
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Appleby earned his way to the line and went 2-for-2 to reinstate a double-digit advantage.
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Wake Forest took advantage of six offensive rebounds and turned it into 10 second-chance points over the first 13 minutes of action.
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Monsanto knocked down his second three-pointer off an assist from Carr with 5:46 to go in the half.
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Appleby dished it out to Carr in the corner as the junior forward connected on an open three to give Wake Forest a 38-30 lead at the under-four media timeout.
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Williamson scored his first points of the contest with a three-pointer as Appleby picked up his third assist.
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Monsanto closed out the first-half scoring with a pair of free throws to send the Deacs to the locker room with a 10-point advantage.
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Appleby led the team with 14 points, three assists and a steal.
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Carr was one rebound away from a first-half double-double. He finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes.
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As a team, the Deacs shot 50 percent from the floor, 50% from beyond-the-arc and 80% from the line in the first half. Wake Forest also outrebounded Clemson, 24-15.
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Appleby opened the scoring in the second half with a driving layup just nine seconds in.
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He found Carr in stride on his way to the basket as the junior forward made the layup and converted the and-one opportunity.
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Appleby pick-pocketed the opponent and went coast-to-coast for a slam to put the Deacs up 15 points at the 18:12 mark.
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Monsanto recorded a steal and converted a layup two possessions later as Wake Forest forced four turnovers over the first three minutes in the second half.
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Appleby picked up his fifth assist as he found Monsanto open in the corner for his third three-pointer of the contest.
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Hildreth became the fourth Wake Forest player to reach double-digit points as he converted a layup to put the Deacs up 61-52 with 13:20 remaining.
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Monsanto made a jumper in the paint to send the Deacs into the under-12 media timeout with a nine-point lead.
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Williamson connected from beyond-the-arc following an assist from Appleby to extend the lead back to double-digits at the under-eight media timeout.
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Hildreth capped-off a 7-0 Wake Forest run with a driving layup with seven minutes to go to put Wake Forest up 72-59.
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Appleby assisted a Marsh dunk and forced Clemson to take a timeout with 3:29 remaining.
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Appleby earned his way to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws and Hilderth connected on a three-point jumper on the next possession to keep the Deacs in control with under two minutes remaining.
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Appleby and Hildreth went a combined 5-for-6 from the line with under a minute to go and Carr sealed the 87-77 victory with a fast-break dunk.
Coach's Comments
"It was a hard fought game, and a lot of credit to Clemson. They came and battled, and I knew they would. I hated that a couple of their guys were out, because they're good players and they've got an outstanding team. I have the utmost respect for coach Brownell. PJ Hall is one of my favorite players, he always has been. His dad was one of my favorite refs, because he reffed about every one of my games that I won at East Tennessee State. PJ just told me his dad had a hip replacement and can't ref anymore, so I'm glad I'm out of there. Hunter Tyson, boy, he's good. They're gonna win a lot of games and when they get those guys back, they're gonna be a lot to deal with.
It was really important tonight that we didn't turn the ball over much. Lucy just told me it's the least amount of turnovers we've had since we've been here, six. I think we only had one in the second half. That's huge. We got to the line a lot tonight because we made some threes early and then we didn't make as many, a couple big ones late. We put a lot of pressure on them off the bounce against one of the best defenses in the ACC and in the country. We got to the line a lot and we got in transition. Daivien and Cam made a couple of really big threes late for us when we needed them. Then again, offensive rebounds, just tracking them down late and getting the extra possession was huge. We didn't foul and we made some physical plays at the rim. Andrew and Davion had some wall-ups, some blocked shots. Davion played great defense. We didn't get back-cut one time tonight for a layup, which we gave a bunch of the first time. We just kind of had them on their heels. It was a great effort for 40 minutes, a heck of a game and a great crowd for a late game. The students were awesome and we're very appreciative of that. We have a much needed day off tomorrow and we're looking forward to that." - head coach Steve Forbes
Upcoming
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Saturday, January 21 - vs No. 13 Virginia - 2 p.m. ET // ESPN2/U
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Wednesday, Jan. 25 - at Pitt - 7 p.m. ET // ACC Network
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Saturday, Jan. 28 - vs NC State - 1 p.m. ET // ACC Network
