Georgia Tech couldn’t exactly blame overlooking Kennesaw State for a slow start Monday night — not a program three years removed from a road loss to the Owls, signaling the beginning of the end for coach Paul Hewitt.
Trae Golden had an excuse, though. He was a freshman at Tennessee back then.
But it was Golden who used four drives to the basket in a five-minute span to snap the Yellow Jackets into shape late in the first half of a 74-57 win over the Owls.
Golden scored eight points during a 17-2 run in the final six minutes of the first half. The senior point guard, who finished with 15 points, scored 10 of them in 17 minutes in the first half.
Robert Carter Jr. kept the scoring coming from the inside too, posting his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds matched his career high he set against Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 26. The Owls had no answer for him, as he shot 5-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Daniel Miller complemented him with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting for Tech.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t escape without a few flashbacks, after Kennesaw State closed to within seven points with 4:14 left, converting after a pair of missed Tech shots. But Kammeon Holsey, who got fired up by a heated exchange with Owls forward Orlando Coleman, scored on a dunk and got a key rebound, before Golden hit a 3-pointer to keep Kennesaw State at bay.
Tech (8-3) closed the “State” portion of its non-conference schedule unscathed, with victories over Delaware State, Mississippi Valley State, East Tennessee State and now Kennesaw State (3-8).
The Yellow Jackets are 7-1 overall this season at McCamish Pavillion, though a sparse crowd showed up at the start of the holiday break for this one.
The Yellow Jackets were coming off an eight-day layoff for final exams. They managed to make their first three jump shots of the game before a little rust started to show up, along with a lack of flow in their offense. But about the time Tech handed the offensive keys to Golden, that turned.
Tech had trailed for much of an eight-minute stretch during the first half before Golden got going and Tech turned a three-point deficit into a 38-26 halftime lead.
Kennesaw State actually got 20 points in the paint to Tech’s 18 in the first half, in large part (literally) from 10 points from Andrew Osemhen, the 6-foot-9, 270-pound Kennesaw State senior from Loganville.
But he didn’t quite have the overall array of skills displayed by Miller who was dropping fadeaway jumpers and jump hooks on his way to 16 points.
Tech got four minutes from senior forward Jason Morris, his first action of the season after Oct. 14 foot surgery. Morris who missed a shot and picked up two fouls had missed the first 10 games recovering from surgery for a stress fracture.
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