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Georgia Tech Basketball: Jose Alvarado leads Jackets past Pittsburgh

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 9: Jose Alvarado #10 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts to a call during the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at McCamish Pivilion on January 9, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 9: Jose Alvarado #10 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts to a call during the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at McCamish Pivilion on January 9, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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It’s no secret that over the past few weeks, Jose Alvarado has been struggling, on Wednesday night, Alvarado answered those calls with a second straight strong performance including a career-high in points.

Georgia Tech finally found the win column again on Wednesday after almost going an entire calendar month without a win. The Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers 73-65 at McCamish Pavillion. Their last win came on January 22nd against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

It appears that Georgia Tech star point guard Jose Alvarado has broken out of his recent slump. After scoring just 24 points through a six-game stretch from January 26th to February 13th, Alvarado has scored 46 points in the Jackets last two games including a career-high 29 points on Wednesday night against Pittsburgh.

Alvarado’s 29 points lead all scorers in the game and was the only Yellow Jacket in the game to score double-digit points. Forward Abdoulaye Gueye and guard Curtis Haywood both scored 8 points in the game.

Alvarado in the game was extremely efficient, something he’s been struggling with during the six-game stretch. In his career day, he shot 69.2% (9-for-13) from the field, 40% (2-for-5) from three-point range, and 90% (9-for-10) from the free throw line.

As a team, the Jackets shot 50% from the field, 36.8% from three, and 75% from the free throw line, one of their better performances all around this season. Ultimately, the Jackets success at the free throw line was the decider in the game with a great disparity between the two teams. While the Jackets shot 75%, making 18-of-24 shots, the Panthers made just 52.6% in the game. Out of 38 free throw attempts, the Panthers made just 20. A horrendous performance at the charity strike to say the least.

It wasn’t a perfect game by the Jackets by any means either. The Jackets had 13 turnovers in the game and committed 24 personal fouls, a sloppy affair to say the least. One place the Jackets did dominate however was in the blocks category. Lead by James Banks III with 5 blocks, the Jackets had 13 for the game including 4 from Moses Wright. In comparison, the Panthers had just one block shot for the game.

Next up for the Yellow Jackets is a trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes at 2:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.