Four days after one humbling home defeat, Georgia Tech narrowly averted another Sunday.
Down 11 points to North Carolina A&T midway through the second half, Georgia Tech rallied to defeat the Aggies 78-71 at McCamish Pavilion.
Tech turned to guard Trae Golden, who scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the final 12:14 and provided defense and passing to help the Jackets scramble their way out of what would have been a most discouraging result in coach Brian Gregory’s third season.
Golden said the team didn’t fear losing. “I knew that we had enough time to come back, but the thought was we have to pick it up, we have to get stops,” he said.
Tech, which lost 82-72 to Dayton on Wednesday, improved to 3-1. The Jackets trailed 49-38, the Aggies’ largest lead of the game, when Gregory called a 30-second timeout at the 13:43 mark. He didn’t need much time to blister players for a lack of energy.
“I was one of them that got busted,” forward Marcus Georges-Hunt said, “and I deserved it because I wasn’t playing so well at that point in time.”
Along with horrendous free-throw shooting, the Jackets were allowing a team with eight freshmen and playing out of one of the weakest conferences in Division I (MEAC) to outplay them on their home court.
From that point forward, Tech asserted control, going on a 14-3 run to tie it up at 52 on a basket and foul shot by forward Robert Carter. Golden, who transferred from Tennessee over the summer and received immediate eligibility as a hardship case due to his father’s illness, was instrumental in the surge, with three assists and a layup.
“He provided a lot of energy in the huddles,” Georges-Hunt said. “Before free throws, he talked to us, got us pumped, and during timeouts, he got us pumped up. He just makes us play a lot different.”
Over the final 13:43, North Carolina A&T shot 5-for-16 from the field and turned the ball over five times that Tech turned into nine points.
“The key for us is that, the second half, last 10 minutes or so, our defensive intensity and energy was where it needs to be all the time,” Gregory said.
Tech played without freshman point guard Travis Jorgenson who tore the ACL in his right knee against Dayton and is out for the season.
“That’s a big blow to us, losing him,” Gregory said. “He was going to play 15 to 20 minutes a game and he’s a quality point guard. He makes the games easier for other guys.”
Tech shot 46 free throws, making 29 for 63.0 percent. It was the most free-throw attempts for Tech since 2006. The Jackets, who came into the game at 77.6 percent from the line, were 8-for-18 at halftime and 9-for-22 four minutes into the second half before making 20 of their final 24 free throws.
There were a total of 57 fouls called in the game, a total that hasn’t been so unusual this season as officials have been instructed to call hand checking more closely.
Said North Carolina A&T coach Cy Alexander, “I didn’t quite understand a couple calls that were made.”
The Aggies just missed taking down an ACC team on its home court. Last season, in Alexander’s first season, North Carolina A&T won the MEAC and won its First Four game before losing to eventual NCAA champion Louisville in the round of 64.
Said Alexander, “It would have been huge for this program.”
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