Late Comeback Falls Short as Demon Deacons Drop Tight Exhibition Contest to South Carolina

Thursday, October 15

Rock Hill, S.C.

6 p.m.

Wake Forest University

0-0,0-0ACC

South Carolina

0-0,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	F
South Carolina	39	39	78
Wake Forest	34	35	69

PDF Box Score

MBB Huddle vs. South Carolina Exhibition

Late Comeback Falls Short as Demon Deacons Drop Tight Exhibition Contest to South Carolina

10/15/2026 9:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Score

Freshman Gavin Placide led Wake Forest with 21 points on 6-of-6 shooting with four rebounds.

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Wake Forest men's basketball team wrapped up its exhibition schedule Thursday night with a 78-69 loss to South Carolina at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

The Demon Deacons mounted a late comeback, using an 11-0 run to trim a 16-point deficit to five in the final three minutes, but the Gamecocks held on to secure the exhibition victory. Wake Forest opens the 2026-27 regular season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Maryland Eastern Shore inside LJVM Coliseum.

Despite the loss, Wake Forest found success attacking the basket and creating opportunities in transition, finishing with 36 points in the paint and 30 fast-break points. The Deacs also recorded nine steals and shot 42.6 percent from the floor, converting 23-of-54 attempts.

Wake Forest's late surge was fueled by defensive pressure, as the Deacs forced several turnovers and scored on consecutive transition opportunities to make it a two-possession game in the closing minutes.

Offensively, Wake Forest was led by Gavin Placide, who finished with a game-high 21 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor, adding four rebounds, two steals and a block.

Justin Ray contributed 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including two three-pointers, while Lukas Bojovic added eight points and a pair of steals. Isaac Carr and Gallagher Placide chipped in seven points apiece, with Gallagher adding two steals and two blocks. Of note, the Placide twins combined for 55 points across Wake Forest's two exhibition contests.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Ray opened the scoring with a fast-break jumper before a Gavin Placide pair of free throws and a Ray three-pointer helped the Deacs take an early 7-4 lead.
- The Monmouth transfer later added two more free throws followed by an Antonio Dorn layup as it became 11-8 to the Deacs.
South Carolina responded with a 9-0 stretch to move in front before Kennedy answered with a driving layup.
Gavin Placide added a layup and dunk before Ray's transition three pulled the Deacs within one at 22-21 with 6:44 remaining in the first half.
- The Gamecocks responded with the next four points to push their lead back to five.
Wake Forest continued to battle back with a Kennedy layup, free throws from Dorn and a Nyeri layup bringing the Deacs within one at 28-27.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch, but the Gamecocks closed the half with four consecutive free throws to take a 39-34 lead into the break.
- Ray led all scorers through the first 20 minutes of action with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a pair of threes.
- Gavin Placide finished the first half perfect from the floor (3-for-3) with 10 points.
South Carolina opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers and stretched its advantage to 45-34.
Gavin Placide converted two free throws following a Gamecock turnover before finishing a fast-break dunk to pull Wake Forest within seven.
Bojovic got going with a pull-up jumper and a pair of free throws to make it 50-42 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
The Gamecocks stretched their advantage to 17 at the midway point in the second half, but six quick points from Carr and Placide kept the Deacs within reach.
Trailing by 16 with less than five minutes remaining, Gavin Placide split a pair of free throws before Lukas Bojovic intercepted a South Carolina pass and converted a fast-break layup to pull the Deacs within 13 at 69-56 with 4:33 remaining.
After a three-pointer pushed the Gamecock lead back to 16, Bojovic knocked down two free throws.
Carr followed with a driving layup before Gallagher Placide turned a turnover into a fast-break bucket, cutting the deficit to 10 at 72-62 with 3:02 left.
Wake Forest continued its surge after a timeout, as Carr stole a Necas pass and Gallagher Placide scored a layup before converting the and-one free throw to bring the Deacs within seven at 72-65.
Placide then stole it once again and threw down a dunk to cap an 11-0 Wake Forest run, pulling the Deacs within five at 72-67 and forcing a South Carolina timeout with 2:48 remaining.
The comeback effort fell just short, as the Demon Deacons dropped the exhibition matchup, 78-69.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE FORBES
"I thought we got off to a good start, then the game got disjointed and physical. I don't think we handled their physicality very well until later on in the game when we settled in. We've got some young guys. We had three freshmen on the court when we made the run at the end of the game in Lukas (Bojovic) and the Placide twins. We have to do a better job of playing through physicality."

UP NEXT

The 2026-27 Wake Forest men's basketball season officially begins on Monday, Nov. 2, inside LJVM Coliseum when the Deacs host Maryland Eastern Shore. Season tickets for the 2026-27 Wake Forest men's basketball season are on sale now.