Brian Gregory and his Yellow Jackets are going into conference play with a 9-3 record after dispatching the Charlotte 49ers (6-6) by a score of 67-66 in a thriller at McCamish Pavilion.
Marcus Georges-Hunt was awesome in the game, finishing with a career and season high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, including a game winning drive to the tin with three second remaining on the clock.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech established their style of play in the first half by playing tough defense, holding Charlotte to 34.5% from the field and 0 of 8 from three-point land.
Offensively, Georgia Tech did a good job of getting into the seams of the zone which created inside shots and also some open shots from the outside.
Chris Bolden and Robert Sampson were inserted into the starting lineup for this game in a move by Coach Gregory to get some extra outside shooting on the floor.
The move paid off for Gregory with Bolden hitting a couple early threes in the first half. However, Tech was 2 of 10 from trey before intermission.
The Jackets went on a 10-2 run to open up a 23-12 lead with 4:09 left before Charlotte was able to cut that lead down to eight before the half, going into the locker room down 28-20.
Charlotte opened the second half pushing the tempo and closed to within two with 15:14 left at 34-32. Charlotte continued to scrap and grabbed a 42-41 lead with 10 minutes left.
Charlotte shot over 60% during that stretch to get back in the game and eventually took a five point lead with 5:40 left at 57-52. The game became a battle from that point.
Tech took the lead 65-64 lead with 1:20 left in the half on a Marcus Georges-Hunt layup.
After Pierria Henry knocked down a couple of free throws with 11 seconds left in the game, it set up the drama that Marcus Georges-Hunt took advantage off.
Georges-Hunt went to the rim aggressively from the left baseline, absorbed the body contact, and put the ball off glass into the bucket for the game winning shot.
Charlotte shot 56.7% from the floor in the second half in order to make this game interesting down the stretch. Tech shot 44.8% in the second half to aid themselves in getting the one point win.
Georges-Hunt’s aggression was needed in a game that turned out to be as hotly contested as expected. Tech won the rebounding edge 35-26 in this game.
They also held Charlotte to 1 of 13 from beyond the arc.
Brian Gregory’s adjustment to his starting lineup worked out pretty decent. Chris Bolden finished with eight points on 3 of 5 from the floor. Robert Sampson had seven points and six rebounds.
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Charles Mitchell added nine points and seven rebounds and Quinton Stephens also added nine points.
Charlotte finished with four people in double-figures led by Pierria Henry who had 14 points and six rebounds. Terrance Williams had 13 points and Torin Dorn chipped in 12 points.
Willie Clayton, from Thomasville,GA, had 10 points and four rebounds.
It was a gritty win for the Yellow Jackets that showed improvement in the phases of the game they were deficient in.
Tech especially did a good job of using dribble penetration and making entry passes into the post against the 2-3 zone.
Now conference play will begin Saturday for the Yellow Jackets with a trip to South Bend, Indiana to face the No.14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish who are 13-1 on the year.