Marcus Georges-Hunt capped off his career-high 25 points with a tough driving layup with 1.8 seconds left to lift Georgia Tech to a 67-66 victory against Charlotte at McCamish Pavilion on Tuesday night.
The 49ers (6-6) had just taken the lead on two Pierria Henry free throws with 10.9 seconds left, and the Yellow Jackets (9-3) needed a score to win.
Point guard Travis Jorgenson brought it all the way up the court, jumping with a defender coming up behind him before firing a bounce pass to Georges-Hunt in the corner.
Georges-Hunt put the ball on the floor, driving toward the basket and initiating contact with the Charlotte defender but keeping control enough to get the ball off the backboard and into the basket for the winning score.
“The guys executed the play perfectly,” Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory said. “Marcus did a great job. So many times in those situations, as the guy (Jorgenson) goes to the rim, the other guys stand around and watch. But Marcus moved into the correct position, and Travis hit him, which opened up a long closeout, and Marcus took advantage of it.”
Henry took a long 3-pointer out of the subsequent timeout, but it was well off the mark for the 49ers.
It was the second consecutive year that the Yellow Jackets won against Charlotte in the final seconds.
After a first half in which neither team shot well and Georgia Tech led for all but 5 minutes, the second half turned into a battle.
The teams had 12 of their 15 lead changes in the second half, none more dramatic than the final one. But the two teams had been trading blows for quite some time up to that point, particularly over the final 4:14.
Over that closing stretch, the teams traded the lead on every made basket – back and forth seven times in all.
“Basketball’s a game of runs,” Georges-Hunt said. “You’ve got to expect it, and you’ve got to know the runs are going to occur. But you’ve just got to get ready to face adversity. That’s where the toughness comes in. Mentally, you’ve got to be strong and be able to attack them.”
The 49ers came out in the second half intent on getting the ball inside against the Georgia Tech zone defense after a cold-shooting first half, and it paid immediate dividends.
Within 5 minutes, they scored 14 points – all either in the paint or on free throws – to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and tie the game at 34.
Soon after, an 8-1 Charlotte run gave the 49ers their first lead since it was 6-4, and the teams began trading baskets. Charlotte’s lead grew to as many as 5, but Georgia Tech clawed its way back.
Much of what offensive success the Yellow Jackets had came from Georges-Hunt, who had 16 of his points during the second half. He wasn’t only effective with the ball in his hands, though, as the junior grabbed seven rebounds to help Georgia Tech to a 35-26 rebounding edge that ended up making a large difference in second-chance points, where the Yellow Jackets also enjoyed a 17-8 advantage.
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