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Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets fall to Gardner-Webb 79-69

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 01: James Banks III #1 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a basket against the St. John's Red Storm during the first half of the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 01: James Banks III #1 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a basket against the St. John's Red Storm during the first half of the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech basketball began an important week of non-conference basketball against Gardner-Webb on Monday night and it wasn’t a good start for the Yellow Jackets.

For a second straight year, Georgia Tech has dropped an inexplicable non-conference game against a mid-major program. Yes, Gardner-Webb entered the game with a five-game winning streak but the Yellow Jackets a much bigger, and more talented team couldn’t keep up with the Runnin’ Bulldogs offense.

On Monday night, the Jackets fell to Gardner-Webb 79-69. The Jackets tried to claw back from a nearly double-digit deficit at halftime but could never get enough defensive stops.

The Yellow Jackets usually solid defense couldn’t stop the Bulldogs on Monday night as Gardner-Webb shot over 50% from the field and went 6-for-15 from beyond the arch. The Bulldogs scored 45 points in the first half alone, one of the worst single-half performances by the Jackets this season.

Gardner-Webb forward DJ Laster lead the Bulldogs with 21 points, making 10 of his 18 shots on the night. In total, Gardner-Webb had four scorers with double-digit performances. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, shot 44% from the field and 28% from long range going 6-for-21 and had three players finish with double-digit points.

For the Yellow Jackets, James Banks III had his best performance as a Yellow Jacket, leading all scorers while recording a double-double including 22 points and 12 rebounds. Curtis Haywood and Jose Alvarado both had double-digit performances, scoring 12 and 19 points respectively.

The trio of Moses Wright, Brandon Alston, and Michael Devoe were incredibly disappointing in the loss, shooting a combined 4-for-22.

For the Yellow Jackets, it was one of their better offensive performances of the year despite really only having three players contribute heavily in the win. Unfortunately for them, their defense could never get it going. From start to finish, Gardner-Webb was the better team on the court and the scoreboard showed it.

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For the Yellow Jackets, the loss drops them to 5-4 on the year and the schedule won’t get much easier for the Jackets as they will travel to face Arkansas on Wednesday night before facing Georgia at home this upcoming Saturday. They won’t have too much time to sulk about this loss and will have to collect themselves for Wednesday night against a 7-2 Arkansas program.