In its only public exhibition game, Georgia Tech did some things well Saturday night, others quite poorly. They did enough of the latter to require a late rally to win 95-87 in overtime against Shorter, a Division II school from Rome, at McCamish Pavilion.
That Tech required a late run – the Hawks led 74-65 with six minutes left in regulation – to get to overtime against Shorter would seem a bit concerning for new coach Josh Pastner. Not only are the Hawks made up players widely deemed not worthy of Division I, but they were 15-14 last season at that level. Pastner felt similar unease, apparently.
“We were a different team from how we’d been practicing and how we played last Saturday,” Pastner said in post-game comments. “I was like, ‘Who are these guys?’”
Tech started two freshmen in the backcourt – Justin Moore and Josh Okogie – along with forward Quinton Stephens, center Ben Lammers and guard Corey Heyward. Pastner said that Moore and Okogie were “huffing and puffing” in the first couple minutes, overwhelmed by playing in game conditions at McCamish.
“That’s why this game was important to us,” Pastner said. “We need to be able to play under the lights just to get the jitters out.”
It’s perhaps also worth noting that, while nearly losing to a Division II team on its home court in an exhibition game, Tech also beat Mississippi State last Saturday in a private scrimmage. The Jackets were again without point guard Josh Heath, who is being held out of preseason games and the first four games of the regular season for a violation of team rules. Forward Abdoulaye Gueye also did not play, as he is suspended after being charged with simple battery.
Against Shorter, Tech was led by guard Tadric Jackson, who scored a game-high 27 points on 9-for-10 shooting in a mere 23 minutes off the bench. He was 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, a considerable improvement on his 59.6 percent shooting from the line last season. Lammers had 20, also on 9-for-10 shooting from the field.
Their teammates were not quite as accurate. Combined, they were 20-for-48. Moore, Okogie and Stephens, all starters, were a combined 13-for-37. As a team, Tech was 0-for-14 from 3-point range. Also, Tech had 14 assists on 38 field goals, a facet of the game Pastner values. Tech assisted on 51 percent of field goals last year.
The Jackets also turned the ball over 20 times in 91 possessions.
Tech will open the regular season next Friday against Tennessee Tech in a McCamish Pavilion doubleheader with the Tech women’s team, which will play Samford.
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