Georgia Tech eases past USC

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Yellow Jackets had a few reasons to fall flat Saturday. They tipped off midway through the SEC Championship game. They were a footnote to their football team's showdown with Clemson in the ACC championship game Saturday night.

And they were playing a USC team decimated by NCAA scandal and the resignation of coach Tim Floyd.

Tech found reason to rally, though, and coasted to a 79-53 victory.

"It's a great way to go into final [exams]," coach Paul Hewitt. "These guys know we're capable of putting together solid minutes of basketball. Today I thought we had good concentration."

Tech announced Saturday that sophomore guard Iman Shumpert had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday and would miss 3-6 weeks.

In his absence, the Yellow Jackets committed a season-low seven turnovers, including only one by a starter. They had five scorers in double-figures. And they got a team-high 18 points from Shumpert's replacement in the starting lineup -- freshman Brian Oliver, who was making his first start.

"We have a lot of pieces to the puzzle," said senior wing D'Andre Bell, who scored 12 points. "[Shumpert] getting the surgery now, based on who we have to play while he's out, it's not going to be a big deal."

Oliver backed that up, after taking a little inspiration from a pregame video game.

"I had played EA Sports College Basketball before I came up here, and I noticed that I wasn’t even on the game, the roster or anything," Oliver said. "So I was kind of upset; seeing that gave me a little more fuel to be excited."

As a group, Tech demoralized the Trojans by scoring the first 19 points of the game, holding USC without a basket for the first seven minutes. Alex Stepheson's lay-up at 12:59 in the first half finally got USC on the board and set off an 18-4 flurry over the next five minutes to cut Tech's lead to 23-18.

But Tech restored order in the final eight minutes of the first half to stretch the lead back to 40-26 at halftime. Mfon Udofia scored eight of his 11 points during that time, beginning with a quick move to the basket and a lay-up high off the glass.

The only real suspense Tech had working in the second half was whether freshman Derrick Favors was going to reach double figures for the seventh consecutive time this season. He finally got there on a 3-point play the conventional way with 5:44 left.

Stepheson, who was originally recruited by Tech before signing with North Carolina and transferring to USC, led the Trojans with 22 points.

Now 6-1, the Yellow Jackets are picking up some steam, winning five in a row since their loss to Dayton.

"Ever since then, we've played with more of a sense of urgency," Bell said. "From there it's about us clicking as a team."