Wake Forest got its first real look against another opponent on Sunday, and Georgetown made the lesson clear in a 94-77 exhibition win at LJVM Coliseum.
The Deacs had bright spots, especially on the offensive end from Kevair Kennedy and a pair of freshmen who flashed early. But Georgetown’s shooting from deep and Wake Forest’s turnovers proved to be the difference in the preseason opener, which was the first of two October exhibition games for the Demon Deacons.
Kennedy led Wake Forest with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding four steals, two assists and two rebounds. Gavin and Gallagher Placide combined for 27 points, with Gavin going 4-of-5 from the floor and collecting three steals, while Gallagher pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Jamari McDowell filled up the box score with eight points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals and a plus-10.
Wake Forest finished 27-of-60 from the field, and 33 of its points came off 22 Georgetown turnovers. Seven different Deacs recorded at least one steal, and three players had at least three.
The opening stretch belonged to Wake Forest. McDowell scored the first points of the game less than a minute in, then helped spark an 8-2 run with a layup, Kennedy’s three points and a Justin Ray triple to give the Deacs a 12-9 lead with 13:49 left in the first half.
Georgetown quickly flipped the script from long range. The Hoyas knocked down four 3-pointers in a two-minute span to move ahead 21-16, and when Gavin Placide briefly stopped the run, Georgetown answered with eight straight points to force a Wake Forest timeout at 8:16 and open a 29-18 lead.
Wake Forest cut the margin to six at 32-26, but Georgetown responded with the next seven points and kept control from there. The Hoyas shot 10-for-16 from 3-point range before halftime, while Wake Forest went just 2-for-11, and Georgetown carried a 47-33 lead into the break.
Wake Forest came out sharper to start the second half. Kennedy scored five straight points, then McDowell’s steal led to a Gavin Placide alley-oop as the Deacs opened the half with a 7-0 run and closed to 47-40.
Georgetown answered again, scoring nine of the next 11 points and eventually stretching the lead to 18 at 70-52 with 12:42 remaining. Wake Forest made one more push when Ring Nyeri threw down a slam to start a 10-2 run that included a Lukas Bojovic three and energetic work from Gallagher Placide, trimming the deficit to 72-62 with 10:19 left.
But Georgetown shut the door from there, scoring 16 of the next 19 points to finish off the 94-77 exhibition win.
Afterward, coach Steve Forbes said the matchup served its purpose.
"I want to thank Coach Cooley and Georgetown for doing this. It's the earliest exhibition game I've ever played in.
Typically these are behind-the-scenes scrimmages where you stop and start the game. I thought it was really good for us to play somebody different.
It exposed us in a good way. Now we know where the problems are, I've known some of them, and now we have to fix them."
UP NEXT
In Other News...
Bearcats' First Loss Just Put Their Season Outlook In Question
ESPNs latest FPI update brought a little movement for Wake Forest after a convincing win, with the Demon Deacons among the teams to climb in the projections as the model recalibrated around the weekends results. The broader picture around college footballs metric still reflects how quickly one game can alter the outlook, with Kansas and Missouri also getting boosted while Virginia and Stanford slid after losses.
Wake Forests rise matters because these ratings are doing more than just sorting teams from top to bottom. They feed into playoff and bowl probability estimates, which means every jump or drop changes the conversation around what the rest of the season can still become. For a program trying to build momentum, the latest FPI movement is another reminder that the margin for error in the coming weeks is already shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forests First Preseason Look Raised Some Familiar Concerns
Wake Forests first preseason test came with the usual small-sample caveat, but the October 4 scrimmage against Georgetown still offered an early glimpse at where the Demon Deacons have work to do. They were outrebounded and had trouble getting stops, especially when the Hoyas found rhythm from three-point range, which is the kind of familiar concern that tends to travel with a team into the regular season if it is not cleaned up quickly.
There were encouraging signs mixed in, though, including promising showings from the Placide twins and Jamari McDowell. It is far too early to treat one scrimmage as a forecast for what Wake Forest will become, but the outing did reinforce that the Deacons have some real upside and some obvious areas to tighten before the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Just Got The Confidence Boost Deacs Fans Needed
Wake Forest finally has the kind of statement win that can reset the conversation around the rest of its season. The Demon Deacons rolled past Stanford 57-3, and in doing so delivered the biggest conference victory in program history while improving to 4-1 overall. It was the sort of complete performance that gives a locker room belief and gives fans something tangible to point to beyond just the record.
Gio Lopez was at the center of it, accounting for five total touchdowns as the offense kept humming from start to finish. Just as important, the defense made Stanford look out of sorts all afternoon, holding the Cardinal to 197 total yards and three points. For a Wake Forest team trying to build momentum, the challenge now is turning one emphatic win into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]