Sophomore Hunter Tyson scored a career-high 21 points as host Clemson held off Wake Forest 71-68 Tuesday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
The Tigers (10-8, 4-4 ACC) posted its fourth victory in five games while the Demon Deacons (9-9, 2-6) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Clemson won its seventh consecutive meeting with Wake Forest.
Tyson made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range.
Clemson won despite making only 7 of 18 free throws. The Tigers have made only 16 of their last 41 free throws (39 percent) over their past two games.
Andrien White led Wake Forest with 22 points while Olivier Sarr added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Demon Deacons, who haven't won at Littlejohn Coliseum since 2009.
Brandon Childress added 14 points for Wake Forest.
Neither team led by more than three points over the first 10 minutes, but Wake Forest went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead before settling for a 37-31 halftime edge.
Aamir Simms, Clemson's leading scorer and rebounder, was held scoreless until the 14:31 mark of the second half and finished with seven points on 2-of-6 shooting. Simms entered the game averaging 20.2 points over the Tigers' past five games.
Clemson's Tevin Mack tied the game at 49-49 on a 3-pointer with 11:50 remaining. Wake Forest led 56-51 before Tyson sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Tigers the lead for good with 5:47 left.
Clemson made just 6 of 11 free throws over the final three-plus minutes, but Wake Forest was unable to capitalize, making only two of its last 13 shots from the floor.
Tyson was the only player in double figures for Clemson, but Clyde Trapp, John Newman III and Curran Scott all scored nine apiece.
Clemson shot 50 percent from the floor -- 11.1 percentage points higher than from the free-throw line -- and committed only seven turnovers. The Demon Deacons outrebounded Clemson 38-32 but shot 43.9 percent from the floor.
--Field Level Media
