Songaila, Deacs Pull Away From Tigers

Jan. 9, 2000

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer

CLEMSON, S.C. – Darius Songaila, one of the few players who could make some shots Sunday, scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Wake Forest to a 67-53 victory at Clemson.

Songaila shot 6-of-9, including three clutch baskets in the final minutes as the Demon Deacons (10-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak that dropped them from the national rankings.

As bad as Clemson (6-8, 0-2) shot early – the Tigers missed 18 of their first 21 shots – Adam Allenspach’s jumper brought them within 53-47 with 3:38 left.

That’s when Songaila, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, got hot. He floated in a 15-foot jumper, then after Pasha Bains kept Clemson close with a 3-pointer, drove the baseline for a reverse layup and a 57-49 lead.

Songaila tied his season high, set twice before this year, with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Will Solomon, the ACC’s leading scorer, led everyone with 26 points, but was only 8 of 19 from the field and a 2-of-8 from three-point range.

That’s the way it seemed for players on both sides. Robert O’Kelley, Wake Forest’s star point guard, finished with 15 points, but made only four of 13 shots.

Clemson’s only senior, Andrius Jurkunas, ended an 0-for-10 horror show with an inside layup 23.4 seconds from the end.

The only way Clemson avoided hitting a season’s low in first-half scoring was on Ray Henderson’s follow shot with four seconds remaining.

Things were really awful in the opening half. Clemson started 1 of 10. Wake Forest was not much crisper at four of its first 11.

Even the stars went cold in this one with O’Kelley 2 of 7 and Solomon 3 of 10.

The Demon Deacons, who shot just 33 percent in the opening period, couldn’t avoid their lowest scoring first half as they led 26-18 at the break.