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Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball Quick Recap: Jackets Take Down Wake Forest in ACC Opener

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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The Georgia Tech Men’s basketball team won their ACC opener on Saturday afternoon over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a final score of 92-79.

Georgia Tech entered Saturday afternoon against Wake Forest in need of a victory to get their ACC schedule off on a strong foot. The Jackets battled through their non-conference schedule finishing with an 8-5 record and were set to face a similar tea in the 7-5 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Jackets were able to get the job done on Saturday, taking down the Demon Deacons, 92-79. It’s the first time the Jackets have put up 90 points in an ACC contest since the 2015-16 season against NC State.

The Jackets used another strong offensive day, shooting 55.8% for the game, their third straight game with a shooting percentage above 50%. The Jackets were led offensively by forward James Banks who finished the game with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting.  Freshman guard Michael Devoe excelled in his ACC debut, dropping 16 points including 9 points coming off of three-pointers. Brandon Alston contributed 14 points off the bench in the effort as well.

The game also saw a tremendous performance out of forward Evan Cole, who like Alston came off the bench. Cole played well on both ends of the court, contributing 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. Cole who started off the season as a starter had a rough start overall to his season but has really come on in the last few weeks. The Jackets will need to see their bench to contribute heavily over the ACC slate if they hope to perform well over the next 17 games.

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The win for the Yellow Jackets is their second straight and it’s their second ACC opening win under Josh Pastner after the Jackets upset UNC in Pastner’s first season. The win pushes the Jackets record to 9-5 on the season. They’ll get back on the court on Wednesday when they take on the 10th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.