Demon Deacons Fall in Second Round of ACC Tournament

Wednesday, March 11

Charlotte, N.C.

9:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

17-16,7-11ACC

Clemson

23-9,12-6ACC

Wake Forest

Clemson

3/12/2026 12:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Sophomore Juke Harris led Wake Forest with 22 points as he moved into fourth in school history for total points in a single season.

By: Stephen Czarda, Keion Robinson & KJ Smith

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 13-seeded Wake Forest men's basketball team (17-16) saw their ACC Tournament run come to a close as they fell to fifth-seeded Clemson (23-9) in the second round of the 2026 ACC Men's Basketball tournament by a score of 71-62 on Wednesday night at the Spectrum Center.

Sophomore guard Juke Harris led the Demon Deacons in scoring as he logged 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. The Salisbury, N.C., native also added a team-high four assists, two rebounds and a steal against the Tigers.

With his performance, Harris has now recorded 703 points this season, moving him into fourth in Wake Forest program history for total points in a season.

Senior forward Tre'Von Spillers registered his third double-double of the season on Wednesday night as he ended the game with 15 points and a season-best 12 rebounds. The Charleston, S.C., native had a career day from beyond the arc as he hit a career-high three three-pointers. Spillers also added three assists and a pair of blocks.

Meanwhile, senior Nate Calmese tallied an additional 20 points and an assist while playing 25 minutes off the bench.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons won the opening tip.
Sophomore guard Juke Harris buried a three-pointer for the Deacs' first points of the game.
Following a block on the defensive end, senior Tre'Von Spillers finished a fast break layup to make it 5-2.
- Sophomore guard Sebastian Akins restored the lead for Wake Forest on the next possession with a nifty layup.
Harris added a tough finish at the rim to move the Deacs within one with 13:19 left in the half.
Junior forward Omaha Biliew connected on a three from the top of the key to make it 16-12.
The Demon Deacons cut the deficit to four as senior guard Nate Calmese recorded an easy layup following a media timeout.
- Harris split a pair of defenders for a layup of his own on the next trip down the court.
Harris ended a short spurt by the Tigers with a turnaround jumper at the 7:28 mark.
- The Salisbury, N.C., native reached double digits moments later as he finished off the glass to make it 29-20.
Spillers ended an 8-0 run by Clemson with a corner three as time was running out on the shot clock, cutting the deficit to 14 points.
Wake Forest headed into halftime trailing Clemson, 41-23.
- Harris led all players with 11 points in the first half.
Harris opened the second half with a deep three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring.
- Spillers added a layup on the next possession to make it 44-28.
Spillers swished a corner three to make it a 14-point game with 16:48 left to play.
Calmese scored 11-straight points for the Deacs to make it an 11-point game with 10:29 left in the game.
- The Gilbert, Ariz., native hit a three-pointer at the 13:17 mark.
- Calmese connected on free three throws to cut the deficit to 52-38.
- Calmese sank another three to conclude his individual 9-0 run.
- He finished a finger-roll layup to make it 54-43.
Spillers splashed another corner three at the 8:42 mark to move the Deacs within 10 points.
Harris drained his third three-pointer of the game to make it 62-49.
- Spillers hit a left-handed hook shot on the next possession to cut the deficit down to 12.
Harris hit two from the line to push it to a 10-point game with 4:01 remaining.
Harris added a pair from the free throw line to make it 63-55 with 2:06 left in the contest.
Calmese converted a layup to cut the deficit down to 10 points.
Calmese added another layup with 40.5 seconds remaining.
The Deacs made it a nine-point game on a three by Calmese.
Wake Forest fell to Clemson, 71-62.

Stats of the Game

With 703 total points on the season, sophomore Juke Harris ranks 4th in program history for single-season points total.
- This is also the most points in a season by a single player in the Steve Forbes era, having surpassed Alondes Williams' 649 points during his 2021-22 ACC Player of the Year campaign against Cal in the regular season finale.

Most Points Scored In Single Season In School History

Rank	Name	Year	Points
1.	Len Chappell	1961-62	932
2.	Dickie Hemric	1954-55	746
3.	Len Chappell	1960-61	745
4.	Juke Harris	2025-26	703
5.	Charlie Davis	1970-71	690
6.	Dickie Hemric	1953-54	680
7.	Charlie Davis	1969-70	664
8.	Alondes Williams	2021-22	649
T9.	Tim Duncan	1996-97	645
T9.	Bob Leonard	1964-65	645

Coach's Comments
"Congratulations to Clemson. I thought they came out with great intensity in the first half. They looked like they were the aggressive team. I don't know if I've ever seen a team have 22 points off the bench in the first half, and their bench played more minutes than their starters. It's almost like they platooned us and maybe tried to make us tired. I don't know if that was their plan, but they got off to a great start and made a lot of threes. I thought that early on, we weren't very good in the defensive transition. They got some easy baskets. We were having a hard time guarding the ball, and that's why they were getting middle penetration and kick out threes. They made nine in the first half. I thought our switching was not great. In the first half, we didn't communicate well, but in the second half, we didn't switch as much. We went back to hard hedging the ball screen. We got pulled in, and they shot seven percent from three in the second half. I thought we did much better in the second half. I thought we really competed our tails off in the second half. We got back in the game, but we just couldn't put enough scoring pressure on them. Physicality bothered us on offense early in the game. We had turnovers and we were standing too much. I thought we played better in the second half. Our play after the play action was a lot better. Clemson is a great defensive team. They pursue the ball. Obviously, the last thing is the 17 offensive rebounds. It's just discouraging for you as a team that you get a stop and you can't get the ball.We gave up 17 offensive rebounds tonight and I think we gave up 21 yesterday. I'm pretty proud of my team and how tough and resilient they are. We fought and fought and fought, but just didn't have enough."- head coach Steve Forbes