Songaila Helps Deacs Pull Away From Tigers
Wake forward hits three clutch buckets late in 67-53 win.
Jan. 9, 2000
Box Score
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 Tigers' Chucky Gilmore blew a thunder dunk with no one near him.
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.
