Monday Night and Early Tuesday Morning ACC Basketball

Demontez Stitt (2)

CLEMSON 78, Wofford (Terriers, 1,409 students, Spartansburg, SC) 70 – Jerai Grant led a balanced Clemson attack with 13 points and six rebounds Monday night as the Tigers held off Wofford 78-70.

Demontez Stitt added 12 points while Andre Young and Milton Jennings had 11 apiece for the Tigers (2-0), who led by double-digits most of the game but struggled to put away the Terriers, the defending Southern Conference regular-season and tournament champions. Noah Dahlman paced the Terriers (0-2) with 17 points and Brad Loesing added 14, including 12 in the first half.

VIRGINIA 74, USC Upstate (Spartans, 4,608 students, Spartansburg, SC) 54 – Billy Baron scored nine of his 14 points during a 25-6 second-half run and Virginia pulled away to beat South Carolina-Upstate 74-54 Monday night.

Baron, who led Virginia with 19 points in its opener, hit a 3-pointer, four free throws and had a steal and layup in the burst for the Cavaliers (2-0). The latter gave them a 60-48 lead with 6:38 remaining, and the Spartans (0-2) never threatened again.

WAKE FOREST 63, Hampton (Pirates, 5,000 students, Hampton, VA) 56 – Wake Forest used a strong first half to capture a 63-56 win against Hampton in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday evening at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Freshman Travis McKie starred for the Demon Deacons (1-1), falling just short of a double-double with 21 points and eight rebounds.

Kennesaw State (Owls [C’mon, how can it not be Baseball Commissioners?], 23,452 students, Kennesaw, GA) 80, GEORGIA TECH 63 – Really? Spencer Dixon had a game-high 27 points and Kennesaw State built a 20-point lead in the first half en route to upsetting Georgia Tech on Monday night.


Charles Carmouche (4) and Durand Scott (1)

LaDaris Green had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Owls (2-0), which had never beaten a team from the ACC or any of the other top six conferences. Markeith Cummings scored 13, Kelvin McConnell had 10 points, and Aaron Anderson grabbed 10 rebounds. Iman Shumpert scored 20 points to lead Georgia Tech (1-1). Glen Rice Jr. scored 15 and Brian Oliver had 12 points.

#19 Memphis (Tigers, 17,963 students, Memphis, TN)72, MIAMI 68 – Joe “Is She Really Going Out With Him, He’s Shoeless” Jackson scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half and the 19th-ranked Tigers overcame a poor shooting night to beat Miami early Tuesday morning.

Charles Carmouche had 13 points, and Wesley Witherspoon added 12 despite shooting 1 of 5 from the field. Antonio Barton finished with 10 for the Tigers (2-0), who shot 34 percent and went 4 for 22 from 3-point range in a game that began at midnight.

The Hurricanes (1-1) received their expected scoring from guards Duran Scott (20 points) and Malcolm Grant (18). But they also got stellar play from Reggie Johnson, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds.