Jackets dominate on boards, pull away in 2nd half to beat West Georgia
Georgia Tech used a dominant stretch in the final 12 minutes of the game paired with a huge edge on the glass to earn an 82-66 victory over West Georgia Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion.
The Jackets, who moved to 5-1 on the season, out-rebounded the visiting Wolves 48-28 in the win, including big men Baye Ndongo and Mouhamed Sylla combining for 25 of those as each contributed a double-double.
West Georgia (4-3) battled back from seven-point deficit early in the second half to tie the game at 49-49 with 12:27 remaining, but Georgia Tech immediately went on a 10-1 run to take control and eventually finished the game outscoring the Wolves 33-17 from that point forward.
Head coach Damon Stoudamire said after the game he was pleased with how his team was able to close things out on Sunday afternoon, including being able to take care of the ball better after turnover problems earlier in the game.
“This was a good second half for us. I thought we did some really good things,” said Stoudamire. “I’ve been saying this pretty much since I put this team together that if we were able to not turn the ball over, we could be really good. It’s a work in progress, but those last six and a half minutes of the game was really good basketball offensively. You wish you could frame that, take that and then let these guys see that each and every day.”
Stoudamire added that he was encouraged again by his team’s defensive effort and if that continues, the group has a chance to win a lot of games.
“I thought our defense was really good,” said Stoudamire. “I’ve been fortunate where I’ve been a part of really good defensive teams as a coach. This defense that we have is really elite, and if we stick with that we’ll be a really, really good team. The problem becomes when you don’t take care of the ball, you really put pressure on your defense to get a stop every play. That’s what you start to encounter. But I’m really happy with what the guys did in the second half.”
Georgia Tech held West Georgia to 39.1 percent shooting in the game and 28 percent mark from 3-point range.
Offensively, Kowacie Reeves Jr. led Tech with 18 points, including 4-of-7 shooting on 3s. Kam Craft was next up with 15 points as he scored the the team’s first seven on the second half to turn the momentum around following the Jackets trailing 34-33 at the break.
The two big men starters for the Jackets were a key ingredient in the victory with Ndongo going for 14 points and 14 rebounds while Sylla added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Lamar Washington was Tech’s top assist man with seven to go with his eight points, and Peyton Marshall added seven points off the bench.
The first half was tight throughout with neither team leading by six or more points and neither team putting together any more than a 6-0 run.
Tech went on a 6-0 spurt near the end of the first half to jump ahead 33-29, but West Georgia closed out the half strong to head into the locker room with a 34-33 advantage. Tech outrebounded the visiting Wolves 28-16 in the opening half but lost the turnover battle 8-4 while West Georgia also knocked down six big 3-pointers.
Reeves had 10 points in the first half to lead Tech while West Georgia’s Shelton Williams-Dryden got off to a hot start with 13. Williams-Dryden finished as the top scorer in the game with 21 points as well as nine rebounds.
West Georgia’s Malcolm Noel and Josh Smith were also in double figures with 13 points apiece.
Tech got off to a strong start in the second half, outscoring West Georgia 11-4 in the first four-minute stretch before the first media timeout at 15:59. The Jackets led by as many as seven at 48-41 at the 15:20 mark before West Georgia battled right back with an 8-1 run to even the game at 49-49 with 12:27 remaining.
Georgia Tech will head on the road to the Sunshine State later this week to take part in the Emarald Coast Classic at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla. The Jackets will open play in the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. vs. DePaul before taking on either LSU or Drake on Saturday with a tip time for that game TBA.
Stoudamire said he is excited for the challenge ahead at the neutral site tournament, spending more time with the team and evaluating where they are at as a group against solid competition.
“A good environment, you look forward to it,” said Stoudamire. “I look forward to these types of situations. They’re great environments to be in. You’re there together collectively as a group so you spend more time together. So I’m looking forward to going down there…play DePaul on Friday and then whoever the next game on Saturday. But I’m looking forward to going down there. It will give us a good opportunity to see where we’re actually at right now.”
West Georgia will next be on the court on Dec. 1 when the Wolves visit Troy for a 7 p.m. tip.
