CHARLOTTE — Butta Johnson won’t be forgetting Clemson’s second-round ACC Tournament win over Wake Forest anytime soon. Probably not ever.

Johnson scored eight points in the 71-62 victory, knocking down two big three-pointers in the first half, helping build a sizeable 18-point lead. However, his biggest points might have been the two free throws he hit with 45 seconds left that snuffed out any comeback attempt the Deacs were trying to put together.

“This is most definitely what I came here for,” Johnson said. “To be in these moments under the bright lights, trying to get wins and putting the nation on notice that Clemson is one of the top teams.”

Johnson’s eight points also put him over 1,000 points for his career. While the veteran guard knew he was getting close, he didn’t realize how close he actually was.

“That feels good,” Johnson said. “Matter of fact, my dad told me I was pretty close a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t know that I was going to be able to hit it tonight. I just thank God for that and Clemson for allowing me to be in this position to get this achievement.”

Johnson’s biggest contributions might have come on the defensive end of the floor, where he helped hold Juke Harris to just one three-pointer in the first half. It was a much better team effort defensively compared to the first time the two teams played, a game Wake Forest won in Winston-Salem.

“The first game was probably a D-minus,” Johnson said. “Felt like tonight was like a good B or B-plus. I think we did pretty good this time. Came out with energy, shut down a little bit of their scheme and what they like to do. We just played hard and stayed together.”

Clemson returns to action at 9:30 on Thursday night as the fifth-seeded Tigers face off against fourth-seeded North Carolina.