Using its size and quickness advantage to pile up fouls on its opponent, Georgia Tech struggled early but broke free from Wofford in the second half for a 77-61 win Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
Guard Adam Smith led Tech (5-2) with 16 points. An NCAA tournament team in four of the past six seasons, Wofford (2-4) was called for 26 fouls to 16 for the Yellow Jackets, affording the Jackets a 29-12 edge in free throws.
1. Tech's plan to impose its will did not start well. The Jackets scored three points in their first 11 possessions, shooting 1-for-13. Particularly noteworthy was that Tech wasn't pressing its interior advantage and lacked energy. With their rebounding prowess, the Jackets can typically clean up on second-chance points, but they didn't score their first second-chance basket until 3:36 remained in the first half. Wofford coach Mike Young said the Terriers played probably their best half of the season in the first half.
“Our defense kind of held us in there a little bit early and then we responded much better in the last 10 minutes of the first half,” coach Brian Gregory said.
2. Smith finds his touch. After a dreadful game against Villanova in the final of the NIT Season Tip-off, Smith rallied with his 16 on 6-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Near the end of the first half, he scored on three consecutive possessions — a stepback jumper, a 3-pointer on a feed from guard Travis Jorgenson and a drive to the basket — to give Tech its first lead and then to re-take it. Against Villanova, Smith was 1-for-9 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range for 3 points as Tech fell 69-52 to No. 8 Villanova.
“Adam, he’s a game-changer,” Gregory said.
3. Late aggression. It wasn't a sparkling effort for much of the game, but the Jackets put their foot down about five minutes into the second half. After a jumper by Wofford center Matthew Pegram cut Tech's lead to 40-37 at the 16:12 mark, Tech picked up its defensive play. Over the next four possessions, Tech snagged a rejection, a strong challenge by forward James White, an air ball and a steal as the Jackets pushed the lead to 48-37 and weren't challenged again. Jorgenson was particularly noticeable, moving his feet to stay in front of his man on the dribble.
“We had a couple breakdowns, but other than that, it was probably the best that we’ve played defensively,” Gregory said of the second half.
4. More from Mitchell. Forward Charles Mitchell continued his dominant play. He secured another double-double — he has had one in each of Tech's seven games — with 10 points and 15 rebounds. His six double-doubles led Division I coming into the game. Further, Mitchell was shooting 62.7 percent from the field, which was 27th in the country.
5. First-half challenge. Wofford didn't pose a great threat to the Jackets, but pushed them for 25 minutes, particularly making them work on defense. A better start would have commended the team's performance more, particularly after Villanova gave the Jackets a 40-minute tutorial in toughness and discipline last week. Given Tech's talent advantage, it's difficult to discern what the free-throw and foul disparity means. However, the Jackets did a nice job of forcing the officials to call fouls with the new emphasis on allowing offensive players freedom of movement. The Jackets' 29 free throws were a season high.
“It’s hard to start the game and execute exactly what you want to do and not get any points for it,” Gregory said. “It’s an area I think we can continue to imrpove on, no question.”
After not finishing at the basket well in the first half, “coming out in the second half, that was our main focus - finish around the basket and take the contact,” Mitchell said.
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