A single play didn’t determine Georgia Tech’s 90-83 win over N.C. State Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.. However, a five-point possession for the Yellow Jackets –three of them via free throw – may have helped prevent ruinous defeat, and it was no surprise that Tech guard Marcus Georges-Hunt was involved.
Tech led 47-33 at halftime before the Wolfpack made a run, closing to within 54-53 with 11:19 remaining. The game had all the markings of a typical Jackets loss – a strong start undermined by a string of empty possessions that gives the opposition a foothold, leading to defeat in the final minutes.
Even Georges-Hunt saw hints.
During the N.C. State run, “some guys were looking around,” he said, unsure of what was to follow. In huddles, the senior captain spoke into the uncertainty, trying to encourage his teammates.
“I feel like if you’re positive to someone, they’ll find confidence within themselves,” he said. “Something inside will them they can do it and they can accomplish anything.”
Georges-Hunt did more than that, collecting an offensive rebound of his own miss and scoring while getting fouled, a play that gained even more importance when N.C. State’s Abdul-Malik Abu slammed the ball to the court in frustration, earning a technical. Georges-Hunt made the three-point play and the two additional free throws, a five-point possession that pushed the lead back to six. N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said the technical “is what turned the momentum.”
It loosened the Jackets’ tension, and sent them on a 15-1 run that began to close out the victory. Georges-Hunt accounted for 17 of Tech’s 43 second-half points, eager to take the big shots with the game on the line.
“Marcus, being leader of the team, we sort of expect that out of him,” forward Nick Jacobs said.
In his last season, Georges-Hunt is enjoying his best year and has improved his productivity since the start of ACC play. In seven ACC games, he is averaging 19.7 points and making 48.9 percent of his shots from the field. A year ago, when he had career bests in both categories, he averaged 14 points and shot 43.9 percent from the field. His numbers are better, too, than his performance in the non-conference portion of the schedule – 14.5 points and 42.3 percent shooting. He has also made his last 22 free throws to raise his season free-throw rate to 83.1 percent.
Frequently encouraged by coach Brian Gregory to take more of an aggressive approach to looking for his shot and finding gaps to attack, Georges-Hunt appears to be following through. Below the radar due to Tech’s 2-5 record in the ACC, Georges-Hunt is nonetheless playing at an All-ACC level. Should the Jackets rally in the second half of the conference schedule, they’ll do so behind him.
After the game Wednesday, Gregory praised his positive attitude and mindfulness to his teammates to make sure that the negativity surrounding the team did not permeate the locker-room walls.
“When you look at the character of this team, what it is, it’s a mirror of what Marcus is all about,” Gregory said.
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