Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball falls to Wake Forest 83-62

Maryland Eastern Shore opened its season with an 83-62 loss at Wake Forest on Monday night at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. The Hawks are 0-1. The Demon Deacons are 1-0.

Bobby Gardner led the Hawks with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Isaiah Griffin added 10 points off the bench, and Saadiq Moore scored 7.

How the game played out

Wake Forest led 40-33 at halftime and outscored the Hawks 43-29 in the second half. The Hawks never led; the Demon Deacons' largest lead was 27 points.

Wake Forest shot 30-of-57 from the field (53 percent) to the Hawks' 23-of-60 (38 percent). Maryland Eastern Shore made 8 of 23 three-pointers, and Wake Forest made 7 of 23.

Turnovers were a major gap. The Hawks committed 18 to Wake Forest's 11, and the Demon Deacons turned them into 31 points. Wake Forest also had a 25-6 edge in fast break points and a 44-22 edge in points in the paint.

Hawks on the glass

Maryland Eastern Shore had 14 offensive rebounds, compared with 8 for Wake Forest, and the Hawks finished with 33 rebounds to the Demon Deacons' 32. Lucius Gibson-Savadel led the team with 9 rebounds, four of them offensive, and blocked three shots. Griffin had 6 rebounds.

The Hawks had 8 assists on 23 made baskets, while Wake Forest had 15 on 30. Maryland Eastern Shore went 8-of-12 at the line.

Wake Forest's leaders

Gavin Placide led the Demon Deacons with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Justin Ray scored 15 on 5-of-6 shooting, and Kevair Kennedy had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. Gallagher Placide scored 13 and Jamari McDowell added 11.

Next up

The Hawks play at High Point on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET.