Clemson Falls To No. 5 Wake Forest, 78-63

Jan. 10, 2004

Wake Forest went on an 18-9 run over the last 5:46 of the game and defeated Clemson 78-63 on January 10 at Winston-Salem. It was Wake Forest’s 11th straight win of the season regardless of site and the Demon Deacons 24th straight home victory over two years. It was the 14th straight year that Wake Forest had beaten Clemson in Winston-Salem.

Clemson was led by Vernon Hamilton and Chey Christie. Hamilton led Clemson in scoring, rebounding and assists, the second time in the last three games he had recorded a “Triple Leadership”. Hamilton had 17 points, his second highest total of the year, six rebounds, all defensive, and five assists. Christie added 16 points on 5-10 shooting, including 2-3 on three-point shots.

Sharrod Ford was Clemson’s third double figure scorer with 10, but Clemson’s second leading scorer got just three field goal attempts. Chris Hobbs added eight points before he fouled out with seven minutes left.

Like Clemson, Wake Forest was led in scoring by a first-year freshman as Chris Paul scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting. Eric Williams, Wake Forest’s strong post player, had 17 points and six rebounds, including five offensive. Jamaal Levy added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Clemson defended Wake Forest’s perimeter, holding Wake Forest to 2-13 three-point shooting in their own arena. It was the fewest made three point goals and the worst three-point percentage by Wake Forest this year. Clemson made 46 percent of its field goal attempts this year, the third best shooting percentage against Wake Forest this year.

Clemson got off to a good start and held a 17-16 lead at the 7:46 mark of the first half on a jumper by Shawan Robinson. But Wake Forest went on a 16-2 run and took a 32-19 lead with 3:29 left in the first half on a jumper by reserve Todd Hendley. Clemson cut the margin back to nine at intermission. Turnovers were Clemson’s downfall in the first half as the Tigers had a 1/14 assist/turnover ratio in the first half. Williams had 12 points and Paul 10 in the first half to pace Wake Forest. Neither team made a three-point goal in the first half.

Clemson made its first four shots of the second half and immediately cut the margin to four at 35-31 with 18:11 left. The margin was between 3 and 6 points for the next 10 minutes. It was 54-48 with 8:37 left on a free throw by Eric Williams. It was still a six-point game at 60-54 with 5:46 left after a three-pointer by Hamilton.

Clemson shot just 2-6 from the field inside the last five minutes of the game, while Wake Forest was hitting 7-10 from the field in that same time frame. Wake Forest’s largest lead was the final score. The Demon Deacons scored 34 of their 46 second-half points in the paint.