Clemson didn’t have its starting frontcourt Wednesday, but the Tigers had Al-Amir Dawes, Chase Hunter and Nick Honor.

On Wednesday, it was enough to help Clemson end its skid with its best win of the season.

The Tigers’ trio of guards picked a good time to have one of their best all-around performances of the ACC slate, combining for 53 points in Clemson’s 80-69 win over Wake Forest at Littlejohn Coliseum. Playing without leading scorer PJ Hall, the Tigers (13-15, 5-12 ACC) snapped their six-game losing streak, their longest in five years.

“We played to our high end,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “We played about to our max, especially without PJ.”

Hunter poured in a career-high 21 points, including some clutch baskets late with the Demon Deacons (21-8, 11-7) cutting into a 12-point deficit with 6:31 remaining. Hunter, who shot 10 of 12 from the field and scored 13 of his points after halftime, ended an 8-0 run by Wake Forest with a 3-pointer and then answered the Demon Deacons’ ensuing 3 with a layup to push Clemson’s lead back to six points with 2:57 remaining.

“It was a big time for us and a big time for me,” Hunter said. “It just all came together for us. They did make runs, and the good thing about this game for us is we combated those runs.”

Wake Forest, which got a team-high 17 points from Damari Monsanto, got as close as three after a pair of free throws from Jake Laravia with 1:27 left. But Dawes, who sank three 3s in the second half as part of a 19-point effort off the bench, had a different answer this time, driving for a layup to push the Tigers’ lead back to two possessions.

“The lane was open,” said Dawes, who scored all but two of his points after halftime. “Everybody defensively was out on our guys denying or whatever, so that opened everything up for me.

“I can drive the ball, too, now. I just made a play.”

Dawes, Hunter and fellow guard David Collins combined to go 8 for 8 from the free-throw line in the final 47 seconds to salt away a win over the Demon Deacons, who came into the night at No. 40 in the NET rankings. Clemson shot 53.7% from the field and 14 of 19 from the charity stripe, including 10 of 12 in the final 20 minutes.

Honor had 11 points in the first half to help Clemson take a 36-33 lead at the break and finished with 13, making for the first time in league play three of Clemson’s guards have reached double figures in the same game. Freshman forward Ian Schieffelin added 10 points before fouling out late.

“That’s the difference in the game,” Brownell said of his backcourt. “If those guys consistently make shots and then we have PJ, we have a chance to have a really good team and beat some good teams. We haven’t been able to do that. A lot of times, it’s one guy. Occasionally, it’s two guys. Tonight we had all three, and it probably took all three to beat somebody as good as Wake. We had everybody playing at a high level.”

Clemson also held Alondes Williams, the ACC’s leading scorer, to 13 points — nearly seven fewer than his season average — before he fouled out. The Demon Deacons shot just 41%, including a 28% clip from 3-point range (9 of 32).

Clemson has played the last seven games without senior forward Hunter Tyson, who’s still recovering from the broken clavicle he suffered against Florida State on Feb. 2. Then Hall reaggravated the left foot injury he’s been dealing with for most of the season Saturday against Louisville to the point the 6-foot-10, 240-pounder left that game early and never returned.

Hall, who’s averaging 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, watched Wednesday’s game from the bench with a boot on his left foot, leaving the Tigers without their two of their top three scorers and plenty of size against a Wake Forest team trending toward an NCAA Tournament berth. Freshman Ben Middlebrooks, who had played 84 minutes all season, got his first career start in Hall’s place.

Middlebrooks had just two rebounds and four fouls in 20 minutes. Senior forward Naz Bohannon tallied seven points and three boards off the bench, but with Clemson’s guards mixing in some aggressive takes to the basket, the Tigers still managed to outscore Wake Forest 34-26 in the paint without their starting bigs.

“Even Coach mentioned it. He said we’ve all just got to play hard,” Hunter said. “That was the main thing. It wasn’t like the backcourt just has got to step up. Everybody’s got to play hard, and we all need to come together.”

It all added up to an unlikely yet much-needed victory for the Tigers.

“Big-time win,” Brownell said. “Just thought our kids have been battling and fighting here for a while. Hadn’t had much luck. Just happy to see them excited in the locker room after a big win against a good team.”

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