Wake Forest Leads for More Than 37 Minutes in 85-77 Victory over Clemson

Wednesday, February 18

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

14-12,5-8ACC

Clemson

20-7,10-4ACC

Clemson

Wake Forest

Photo by: Seth Seebaugh

Wake Forest Leads for More Than 37 Minutes in 85-77 Victory over Clemson

2/18/2026 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Five Deacs scored in double figures against the Tigers, led by 20 points from sophomore guard Juke Harris.

By: Stephen Czarda, Keion Robinson and KJ Smith

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men's basketball team (14-12, 5-8 ACC) secured their third-consecutive victory as they defeated Clemson (20-7, 10-4 ACC) by a score of 85-77 on Wednesday night inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Five Demon Deacons scored in double figures against the Tigers, with sophomore guard Juke Harris leading the charge with his 14th 20-point game of the season. The Salisbury, N.C., native finished the game with 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Harris has recorded double-digit scoring performances in all 26 games this season and is currently averaging 21.3 points per game. Additionally, the sophomore is leading the ACC in scoring as he is averaging 22.6 points against conference opponents.

Sophomore guard Sebastian Akins added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field to go along with three rebounds and an assist over 30 minutes of play. The Concord, N.C., native did most of his damage from the free throw line as he converted 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Junior guard Myles Colvin scored 14 points, all of which came in the first half where he went 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Indianapolis native also logged five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Senior guard Mekhi Mason continued to be a presence coming off the bench as he tallied 13 points, a rebound, an assist, a steal and a block. Meanwhile, senior forward Tre'Von Spillers totaled 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with his six rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.

Overall, the Demon Deacons shot the ball at a 54.9 percent clip on Wednesday night, including going 18-for-27 (66.7 percent) from the field in the first half.

How It Happened

Senior forward Tre'Von Spillers grabbed Wake Forest's first points of the contest on a left-handed hook shot.
- The Charleston, S.C., native added a tough finish at the rim to tie the game at 4-4.
Sophomore guard Sebastian Akins knocked down a fadeaway jumper to give the Demon Deacons the lead at the 17:41 mark.
Spillers continued his hot start to the game with a tip in to make it 8-5.
- Junior forward Cooper Schwieger made it a three-point game on the next possession with a nifty layup.
Coming out of a media timeout, junior guard Myles Colvin extended the Wake Forest lead to five points on a driving layup as the shot clock was winding down.
- The Indianapolis native found junior forward Omaha Biliew under the basket with a crafty assist to make it 14-7.
Wake Forest went on an 8-0 run to balloon their lead to 14 points.
- Colvin buried a three-pointer a few possessions later to extend the Demon Deacon lead to 17-8 with 12:57 left in the first half.
- Biliew added a finger roll layup with the shot clock winding down to make it an 11-point game.
- Senior guard Mekhi Mason knocked down a corner three to make it 22-8.
Sophomore guard Juke Harris recorded his first points of the game with a jumper late in the shot clock to make it a 14-point game.
- The Salisbury, N.C., native added a tough finish at the rim to make it 26-10 on the ensuing trip down the court.
- Harris responded to a Clemson three with a three-pointer of his own at the 8:17 mark.
Schwieger connected on a pair of free throws following the under-eight media timeout to make it a 16-point game.
Colvin ended a 7-0 run by the Tigers with a deep three-pointer to make it 34-22.
Akins extended the Deacs lead back to double digits with a jumper in the paint with 4:34 left to play.
- Colvin knocked down another three-pointer on the next possession to give the Deacs a 39-25 lead and force a Clemson timeout.
After forcing a miss on the defensive end, Spillers fought through contact to finish a layup in transition before completing the three-point play to extend the lead to 17 points.
- Colvin buried his fourth three of the game to make it 45-25 on the next trip down the court.
The Demon Deacons headed into halftime leading the Tigers, 45-32.
- Colvin led all scorers with 14 points in the first half.
After Clemson opened the second half on a 9-1 run, the Deacs recorded their first bucket of the half on a driving layup by Mason at the 14:26 mark.
- Biliew buried a corner three on the next possession to put the Demon Deacons up 51-41.
Mason put the Deacs back up by 10 with a three-pointer from the top of the key with 11:31 left to play.
- The Gilbert, Ariz., native put the Deacs up by 11 a few moments later after converting an and-one in transition.
Harris finished a tough layup to make it 59-51.
- Harris moved into double figures on the ensuing possession on a tip in layup to make it a 10-point game.
Akins added a jumper in the lane to put the Demon Deacons up 63-54 with 7:19 left to play.
- Harris put the Deacs back up by double figures on the next possession with a turnaround jumper.
Harris buried a three-pointer from the wing to make it 68-56 at the 5:53 mark.
Akins added two from the line to push the score to 70-56.
Following the final media timeout of the game, Spillers extended the Wake Forest lead to nine after hitting the front end of a one-and-one.
Akins knocked down a deep three to make it 75-66.
Harris added two from the line to put the Deacs up by 11 with 1:23 remaining.
Akins connected on a pair from the charity stripe to put the Deacs up 80-70.
- Mason sank two more from the line to put the Deacs back up by 10 with 41 seconds left to play.
Akins hit a pair from the free throw line to make it 84-74.
Harris eclipsed the 20-point mark after hitting one of his two attempts from the line.
The Demon Deacons held on to beat the Tigers, 85-77.

Stats of the Game

Wake Forest scored 45 points in the first half Wednesday night, the most against an ACC opponent this season and most since it had 57 on Dec. 14 against Queens.
- The Demon Deacons finished the first 20 minutes with an 18-of-27 (66.7%) mark from the floor and a 6-of-12 (50%) clip from beyond-the-arc.

Key Moment

The Demon Deacons built their lead with a dominant first half, highlighted by a 14-1 run over a 5:22 span early in the game.
- Wake Forest went 6-for-8 from the field during the stretch, including going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.

Coach's Comments
"We challenged our players the last two days in practice, and it showed tonight. We had a really high level, intense practice because we have so much respect for Clemson and their program and what they're about and their toughness and their defense. They have the 15th-best defensive efficiency in the country. So, I thought that it was going to be really important on offense for us to get to 70 points and make between eight to 10 threes. We ended up making 10, and we scored 85 on a really good, outstanding defensive team.

"I thought we played at a really high level on offense. In the first half, the ball was humming and we were just getting and making shots. I thought it was important in the first half, from about the 16-minute mark to about the nine-minute mark, I think we stopped them eight out of 10 times and we kept scoring. We had a couple stretches like that in the game where we clamped down defensively. I knew at halftime, they're going to take a punch, and we took it. They came out and punched us. We took it, and then we fought back. And I'm really proud of my team for being really resilient – really proud of the bench. Mekhi [Mason] had 13 points. Marqus [Marion] was plus-16 in 19 minutes and didn't score a basket. Isaac was at five assists and one turnover, and Omaha [Biliew] was plus-13. Myles [Colvin] got it going for us early from three. Juke's [Harris] going to be Juke. I just thought it was a really good team win.

"Tonight felt more like a team win for us in the Joel, the way we have played, and it felt good. So, the last thing I said to them before they went out on the court tonight, and right after the game, was 'Let's just keep the streak alive.' Just keep the streak alive and keep it going. They're doing it by working their tail off every day in practice."- head coach Steve Forbes

Up Next
Wake Forest will head on the road for a Saturday matchup against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum.

Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the matchup will air nationally on the ACC Network.