Sports > January 24, 2008

By Ryan Durham | Sports editor

Despite a concerted effort against what many thought to be long odds, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons fell in overtime to the No. 25 Clemson Tigers 80-78 in Clemson, S.C. Jan. 22.

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Sophomore point guard Ishmael Smith dribbles the ball during a recent home game. Smith is averaging 30.2 minutes played per game this season. (Jeff Merski/Old Gold & Black)

“We had only one day to get ready after FSU, and we came down here with a lot of heart and emotion but couldn’t put the game out of reach,” Head Coach Dino Guadio said in the post game press conference.

The Demon Deacons went into the game as underdogs, but they surprised many of their critiques by leading the Tigers 32-31 at the halftime buzzer.

This was due in large part to strong performances by freshman forward James Johnson and sophomore L.D. Williams.

Williams scored 9 and Johnson added eight of his own in the first half.

The Demon Deacons strong first half performance helped the team build a lead in the second half that at one point reached as many as eight points. Clemson rallied around the Wake Forest defense and took the lead with 2:45 left in regulation, but sophomore Ishmael Smith hit a clutch three-point shot to tie the game with 49 seconds left in the game and sent the game into overtime.

The Deacons scored the first points of the overtime period, but they could not hold off the strong attack of the Tigers, who grabbed the lead with 1:10 left in OT and would not relinquish it again.

This left the Deacons out another ACC win with a 80-75 final score.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to a young Wake Forest team,” Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell said. “They came in here with a short turnaround and played well. The most surprising thing, to me, was that we got beat on the boards in the first half. I thought they outplayed us for about three-quarters of the game.”

Smith led the Deacs throughout the game, scoring 19 points and dishing out seven assists.

He was followed by Johnson and Williams who scored 14 points a piece.

Before traveling to Clemson the Deacons played host to Florida State University and gained their second league win of the season. The teams played evenly for most of the first half, with scoring coming in short bursts.

The Seminoles built up to a nine point lead in the half, but the Deacons slowly chipped away at it and went into the locker room down only three points, 31-28.

Wake Forest came out of the locker room though with its finger on the trigger going on a 16-3 run, which gave them a substainial lead.

The Seminoles cut the Deacs’ 10 point lead to two with 13:17 left in regulation, but they would not win it back.

Wake Forest regained its double-digit lead with 5:53 left in the game.

By game’s end the Deacs had increased their lead to 17 points and ended any hopes the Seminoles had of gaining an ever coveted ACC road win.

“Our offense in the second half was really efficient. We scored at a 1.2 points per possession pace, which is just outstanding against a very, very good defensive team,” Guadio said. “When I went in at halftime I told them ‘Don’t worry about winning the game or losing the game. Don’t worry about that. Just worry about playing hard and doing your job on both ends of the floor.’”

Johnson lead the Deacons in the game with 26 points and nine rebounds, earning him ACC Rookie of the Week honors.

Also important for the Deacs were the 12 points contributed by freshman Jeff Teague and the 10 bench points from sophomore Harvey Hale.

Wake Forest has a full week to rest, after their short turn around this week, before their next ACC matchup Jan. 29 at home against the University of Miami Hurricanes.