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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Wake Forest coach Dave Odom couldn't
remember a half like Wednesday night's since he played in the
1960s.
|  | | Clemson's Adam Allenspach, right, battles Wake Forest's Rafael Vidaurreta for a rebound. |
Demon Deacons forward Darius Songaila said he couldn't even tell
what the score was.
By the end of the first half Wednesday night, Wake Forest (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 24 AP) led Clemson 42-9 and cruised
to a 92-60 win.
"It was a shock to me," Songaila said of the first half,
during which he scored 10 of his game-high 24 points. "I didn't
even know the exact score. I couldn't keep up with it. I was too
excited."
Coach Larry Shyatt said he wished his Tigers (11-15, 2-11 ACC) could
have disappeared at times, but told them this game was "another
experience we need to go through," just like the high after the
win Sunday against then-No. 1 North Carolina.
Craig Dawson added 19 points and Josh Howard added 14 points and
nine rebounds for Wake Forest (18-8, 7-7), who won their second conference road
game of the season.
Tony Stockman scored 14 points to lead Clemson, which looked
nothing like the team that beat North Carolina.
Will Solomon, the ACC's leading scorer at 21.5 points per game,
did not score in the first half. He shot 0-for-3 from the field and
turned the ball over five times in the first 20 minutes. He
finished with nine points.
Odom said he was pleased with his team holding Solomon to three
shots in the first half and the five steals Broderick Hicks got
playing just nine of the first 20 minutes.
The nine first-half points marked a season low for a half for
the Tigers, and was the least an opponent scored in a half against
the Demon Deacons.
The last time Clemson scored fewer points in a half was in the
Southern Conference tournament in 1945 when they trailed South
Carolina 36-6 at halftime.
Clemson had 13 turnovers, shot just 13.6 percent (3-of-22) from
the field and did not have a field goal until Ray Henderson
followed his own shot with 9:41 left to cut Wake Forest's lead to
26-4.
Shyatt tried everything to get the Tigers out of their doldrums,
including calling two timeouts and picking up a technical - all in
the first 10 minutes. But Wake Forest's defense forced Clemson into
rushed shots, and the Tigers shot 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the
first half.
The victory moved the Deacons into a tie for fourth place in the
ACC, just a half-game behind Maryland and Virginia.
The 32-point loss marked the end of a strange week for Clemson,
which sandwiched the North Carolina win between a 34-point loss to
North Carolina State on Feb. 14, the Tigers' worst loss in 45
years, and Wednesday's loss.
"That's basketball," Solomon said. "You're on top one night,
then you're on the bottom."
Wake Forest's offense methodically churned through the Tigers'
defense, scoring the game's first 11 points. The Deacons led 32-4
with 6:37 left when Tomas Nagys hit Clemson's second of three
first-half field goals to make it 32-6.
Clemson's offense improved in the second half, but Wake Forest's
lead was 30 or more points for most of the half.
The Clemson players and coaches were clearly frustrated. Chris
Hobbs got a technical foul in the first half, then an intentional
foul that put him on the bench with his fifth foul in the second
half.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Wake Forest Clubhouse
Clemson Clubhouse
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