Georgia Tech was shorthanded. That was only the beginning of the Yellow Jackets’ problems.
Tech hung in with No. 22 Pittsburgh Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion, but was ultimately overpowered by the Panthers’ relentless rebounding and efficient offense. The Jackets fell 81-74 as the Panthers, in their first season in the ACC, overwhelmed the home team with their Big East style.
Said Tech forward Marcus Georges-Hunt, “This is the first team I’ve seen, being in the ACC, that attacks the glass like that.”
The Jackets (10-7 overall, 1-3 ACC) were outrebounded 38-18, Tech’s lowest rebounding total going back at least to the 2000-01 season. Pitt, which going into Tuesday’s game led the ACC in rebounding margin at plus-8.7, had as many offensive rebounds (12) as Tech did defensive rebounds. The Jackets are hardly a poor rebounding team; they were fifth in the ACC in rebounding margin before Tuesday (plus-5.6). They were no equal for Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-0).
Sometimes on Tuesday, Georges-Hunt said, “It took two people to move one person (out of rebounding position), and there’s another one coming, so they’re all active on the glass.”
Tech’s lineup holes did not help. Gregory had eight scholarship players available because forward Robert Carter and guard Travis Jorgenson are out long-term with injuries, forward Jason Morris suffered a concussion in a car accident Saturday and guard Solomon Poole missed his second game in a row with a migraine. Gregory allowed that lineups were “disjointed” at times as he mixed and matched.
That said, “we didn’t rebound tonight worth anything,” Gregory said. “You can give them credit, but it doesn’t matter if you have five guards out there, you have to hit people. You’ve got to find the ball and you’ve got to pursue it and you’ve got to finish a defensive rebound with a rebound. We didn’t do that.”
Despite that, Tech got the McCamish crowd (which included John Smoltz and Tech great Dennis Scott) going in the first half, playing with energy, winning loose balls and taking advantage of Pittsburgh’s unusual looseness with the ball. The Jackets used a 13-4 lead late in the half to take a 35-30 lead with 59 seconds to go in the half.
Backup guard Corey Heyward drove the run, assisting on two baskets and then relieving Pitt forward Lamar Patterson of the ball and scoring in transition at the other end. Heyward no doubt was a familiar name to longtime Panthers fans – his father is the late Craig Heyward, the NFL star who starred at Pittsburgh.
Heyward, who redshirted last season after tearing his ACL twice, has given the Jackets back-to-back solid contributions off the bench. He gave two points, two assists against no turnovers with one rebound and one steal.
But in the second half, after Tech took a 37-32 lead after the opening possession, the Jackets allowed a 9-0 run and never led again. Committing repeated defensive lapses, due in some part to the pieced-together units Gregory was putting on the court, Tech gave up numerous open shots at the basket to Pitt.
The Panthers led by as many as 14 before the Jackets rallied late. They shot 56.9 percent from the field for the game and 65.4 percent in the second half.
Said Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, “We just seemed to keep getting layups in the half-court and in transition.”
With the rebounding edge, the Panthers scored 21 second-chance points to 11 for Tech.
Tech will complete its three-game homestand Saturday against Miami. It’s possible, though hardly certain, that Morris and Poole will be back.
“It’s hard, but for some reason, we’re being put through these tests, and you need to stay strong, you need to stay positive,” Gregory said.
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