WINSTON-SALEM — Marcquise Reed scored 10 of his 22 points after picking up his fourth foul and No. 20 Clemson escaped with a 75-67 victory against Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at Joel Coliseum.
Gabe DeVoe knocked in 24 points and Shelton Mitchell poured in 10 points for Clemson (19-4, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved alone into second place in the conference.
The Tigers won for the third time in a seven-day period after a frustration-filled loss to first-place Virginia. This is Clemson’s second three-game winning streak during ACC competition.
Bryant Crawford ‘s 16 points and Keyshawn Woods’ 13 points led Wake Forest (9-14, 2-9), which was aiming for consecutive victories for the first time since mid-December.
The Demon Deacons dropped to 0-6 this season against nationally ranked opponents. Doral Moore, who grabbed 13 rebounds, Olivier Sarr and Donovan Mitchell all scored nine points.
Clemson made 10 of 24 shots from 3-point range, only the second Wake Forest opponent in a six-game stretch to make a double-figure total from long range. The Tigers made 17 of 20 free throws.
The backcourt duo of DeVoe and Reed combined to make 15 of 26 shots from the field.
Reed picked up his fourth foul with 7:08 to play in a game that was contested within a three-point margin for most of the second half.
Clemson was up 71-65 with 40 seconds to play on Reed’s two free throws. He drained two more foul shots at the 28-second mark to complete his scoring.
Clemson held a 35-30 halftime lead, and then stretched the margin to 41-33. Sarr supplied six points during a spurt as Wake Forest grabbed the lead early in the second half.
DeVoe had 13 points at the half, aided by 5-for-6 shooting from the field.
Wake Forest ended up with only eight turnovers, matching its second-fewest giveaways of the season.
