No. 25 Clemson opens big early lead to start ACC play 2-0 with a 73-62 victory over Wake Forest

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Chase Hunter had 16 points and Jake Heidbreder 15 as No. 25 Clemson bounced back from two straight losses to beat Wake Forest 73-62 on Saturday and start ACC play 2-0 for the second time in three seasons.

The Tigers (10-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost a pair of non-conference games in overtime to Memphis and South Carolina. But Clemson opened a double-digit lead in the first half and held off the Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1).

Wake Forest trailed by 15 points in the first half, but cut the lead to 44-41 on Hunter Sallis’ three-point play with 15:51 to play. The Tigers followed with a 19-6 burst the next eight minutes to extend the lead back to double digits.

Sallis finished with 26 points to lead Wake Forest.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons got strong efforts from Sallis and Cameron Hildreth who combined for 41 points on 17 of 26 shooting. The rest of the team managed 21 points on 8-of-24 shooting.

Clemson: The Tigers showed their versatility and grit after two difficult defeats. Viktor Lakhin and Heidbreder carried the scoring load early until Hunter heated up with 12 of his points in the final 27 minutes.

Up three points early in the second half, Clemson went inside with a layup by Ian Schieffelin and a dunk by Lakhin to reestablish control.

Lakhin had a season-low 4 points earlier this week in an overtime loss at South Carolina. He responded his overall best game since transferring from Cincinnati with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.

Wake Forest is off for 10 days before playing Syracuse on Dec. 31.

Clemson has an 11-day break playing Stanford on Jan. 1.

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