Tech earns encouraging win in Bahamas

By Sheldon Longley

For the AJC

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The resort setting could have been a distraction, but the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets maintained a businesslike approach Saturday night in the Battle at Atlantis, beating Richmond 67-54 at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

Iman Shumpert led the Jackets (6-4) with 21 points, 18 coming in the opening half to get his team off to a promising start. Glen Rice Jr. came off the bench and supplied a second-half boost, hitting 5 of 6 free throws to help secure the victory. Rice scored all 9 of his points after intermission.

“We felt like we needed a spark and I was happy that I could provide that,” Rice said. “We had a great time here. It felt like we had a home crowd with all the support, and we didn’t even know anybody out here. It was nice. It was a really nice venue that they put together. I felt real comfortable out there playing. To me it felt like Madison Square Garden." 

Richmond (8-3) came in seeking its second-best start in 76 years. The Spiders hung close, even led 36-34 in the second half, before Tech went on a 12-2 run to pull away.

“I thought it was a good win for us," Shumpert said. "Team-wise I felt like we picked it up defensively, especially in the second half. This was the first time we really put together two halves with a lot of defensive energy so I was really happy about that."

Senior forward Justin Harper led the Spiders in scoring with 15 points.

Tech coach Paul Hewitt said the overall effort pleased him, and even with a slow start to the season feels he has an NCAA Tournament team.

“It will be tough," Hewitt said. "I’m not sure honestly yet how well we will do. I mean I think we’ve got a chance to be one of the better teams in the league but we’ve got maybe three or four non-conference games to get ready and those games are important. I felt today was really the first time we played like a Georgia Tech team. I felt we played with a level of confidence and a good defense, especially in the second half, cause Richmond is a very good team.

Tech picked up its defensive intensity, switching to a full-court press. The Spiders tried to counter by pushing the ball up court quickly but the relentless Jackets took them out of their rhythm.

“It was just about everybody trying to be aggressive,” said Shumpert. “What happened was I just getting more situations where I was getting switched with a big guy and I was able to attack the bigs early on. It worked out for us in the second half.”

In the first half, it seemed like every time the Yellow Jackets tried to pull away, the resilient Spiders would respond and get back in the game. No team led by more than four points in the first half, which ended with the Yellow Jackets ahead 25-24.

The second half went back and forth until freshman forward Kammeon Holsey gave the Yellow Jackets the lead for good, 38-36, with a short jumper in the lane with 12:41 to play.