Tech survives Charlotte on the road

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

CHARLOTTE -- ACC play was still a week away. A road game at Georgia was three days away. But Georgia Tech found plenty of hostility Saturday night against Charlotte.

The 49ers used a barrage of 3-pointers, including a pair by Derrio Green on one possession, to put a scare into Tech and stir their home Halton Arena crowd into a frenzy.

But while the 49ers were raining 3-point shots, Georgia Tech kept feeding Gani Lawal inside, and the junior came through with a resilient 29 points to lead Tech to a 76-67 win.

Lawal, who had managed only 5.7 points per game his previous three games, scored 22 points in the second half. He made 8 of 8 free throws in the final three minutes and blocked Chris Baswell's shot with 37 seconds left to end Charlotte's comeback hopes.

"He's turning into a big-time player," Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "His game is really, really coming along."

Lawal matched the season-high 29 he had against Chattanooga. But he had shot only 9-for-28 in three games since heading into Saturday. He was coming off a 2-point game Tuesday against Winston-Salem State.

"Obviously I wanted to score more, but I wasn't down," Lawal said. "I just worked hard the last two days of practice and bounced back. [I wanted to] be real mature and professional about it. I wanted to just come out tonight, play hard and just dominate."

He made 6 of 11 field goals, 17 of 20 free throws and finished with 10 rebounds.

"We couldn't stop him without fouling him," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said.

That's no longer a dangerous proposition for Tech. Lawal has improved his free-throw percentage from 56 percent last season to 71 percent this season.

"He's got the right routine figured out, and it's the same every time," Hewitt said. "You can see it coming together."

Iman Shumpert returned after a six-game absence because of arthroscopic knee surgery. He was a steadying force with nine points in 27 minutes.

Tech's offense went dormant in the second half, while Green made three consecutive 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points. He made two 3's on one trip down the floor, thanks to a foul underneath by Brian Oliver and an offensive rebound off a missed free throw.

When Lawal scored with 5:02 left, he made Tech's first basket in three minutes, and the 49ers had whittled Tech's 12-point lead to 2. Charlotte looked like the better of two 10-2 teams at that point, one which had defeated Louisville at Louisville.

The 49ers, who made 10-of-25 3-pointers, took the lead 66-65 on Dijuan Harris' 3-pointer with 2:38 left, their first lead since the first five minutes. But Tech, which shot only 3-of-18 from 3-point range, answered with a charmer.

D'Andre Bell bounced in his first 3-point attempt of the game with 2:20 left to give Tech the lead back 68-66, one it would not lose. Green sat out the last 27 seconds with a sore ankle.

"The whole game I was taking good shots; they were all in and out," said Bell, who shot 3-for-7 to finish with 11 points. "I stayed confident. My team kept urging me on to shoot, stay confident, and we got it done."

The Yellow Jackets (11-2) handed Charlotte (10-3) its first loss in six home games this season. Tech won its only other true road game by 31 points at Chattanooga, but this was a bigger test.

"It was a quality win for our guys," Hewitt said.