Tar Heels hold off Yellow Jackets
The fans who braved the ice to attend Wednesday night’s Georgia Tech-North Carolina game at McCamish Pavilion got what they wanted. The many Tar Heels fans in attendance, that is.
With the metro Atlanta ice storm as a backdrop for the game, the Tar Heels held off the Yellow Jackets by a 78-65 count.
North Carolina (13-7 overall, 3-4 ACC) wore down Tech in the second half, making 16 of its 24 field-goal attempts in the final 20 minutes to break open a game that it led by one point at halftime.
The Tar Heels had their own gridlock story to tell, having flown into Atlanta at 11 p.m. Tuesday night and getting to their hotel via MARTA after 1 a.m. Tech could only provide about half of the typical staffing for the game. ESPN canceled its broadcast out of safety concerns for its crew.
Tech (11-10, 2-6) gave a solid effort, but again had its trouble on the interior. In the first half, Tech limited North Carolina to 12-for-39 shooting, but the Tar Heels took 16 more shots than the Jackets on the strength of 10 offensive rebounds to one for Tech (as well as four turnovers compared to eight for Tech) and led 26-25. The chance to grab an early lead and try to hold on was lost at that point.
For the game, North Carolina outrebounded the Jackets 45-33.
Tech’s horrendous free-throw shooting – 15-for-26 – likewise squandered opportunities.
Guard Trae Golden led Tech with 21 points, but shot 6-for-17 from the field. Center Daniel Miller played a strong defensive game, blocking five shots, altering others and finishing with 12 points. Forward Jason Morris was bitten again by the injury bug, leaving the game in the first half with a right foot injury and not returning. Coach Brian Gregory had to use walk-on Brooks Doyle at the end of the game during the Jackets’ comeback try.
Many of the 5,124 fans in attendance defied the athletic department’s encouragement to stay home if they weren’t within walking distance or took MARTA .
“There was no way we were going to miss this game,” said Mary Jo Bryan, an Atlanta resident and UNC grad who came by MARTA with her son James, who received the tickets as a Christmas gift.
Tech’s student body considerably boosted the attendance. The combination of North Carolina and the cancellation of classes on Thursday brought about 2,300 students to McCamish, more than twice the usual amount.
With several athletic department and campus staff unable to make it in to work Wednesday, staffing for the game was about half the standard number. Of those on hand, many actually stayed overnight at Tech Tuesday night.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
