If the precursor was any indication, Georgia Tech is in for a wild ride in ACC play.
Tech needed a Trae Golden 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left to hold off Charlotte 58-55 on Sunday night to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule.
Behind Golden’s season-high 24 points, the Yellow Jackets (9-4) imposed just enough will on the 49ers in opening minutes of the second half and the game’s final seconds to escape Halton Arena happy.
Charlotte (8-4) rallied from eight points down in the final 1:09 on a pair of free throws and two 3-pointers, including Shawn Lester’s game-tying make from the top of the key with 10.6 seconds left to tie the game 55-55.
But after pressing Tech into three turnovers in the final minute, Charlotte backed off for the final play, fearing the foul. Golden took the bait, and the inbounds pass, dribbled up court, and with Denzel Ingram giving him room, made the first buzzer-beating game-winner of his college career.
“I knew (Ingram) was going to probably give me space, so I just rose up, hit the shot,” said Golden, the senior transfer from Tennessee.
The play, as Tech coach Brian Gregory had drawn it up during the timeout, broke down, Golden said, but the feeling he got from his coach never wavered.
“He gives me that look like ‘Let’s go, let’s do it,’ and it gave me the confidence to knock the shot down,” Golden said. “That’s what you play for as a player.”
Charlotte got one final chance, and the 49ers’ Pierria Henry made a contested 3-pointer which would have tied the game as time expired, but the shot left his hand after the buzzer sounded it. Referees used video replay to confirm it and waved off the basket.
The Yellow Jackets wrapped up their non-conference schedule with their second of four straight games on the road. Next up, they’re at Maryland, then at Duke. Nothing left on the horizon now but ACC play.
“You try to prepare as much as you can but we go to Maryland and then Duke, then we have Notre Dame and Pittsburgh at home,” Gregory said. “So I don’t know, what do you do to prepare for that? Just go out there and compete, see what happens.”
That’s what the Yellow Jackets did Sunday night, and it started with the play of Golden and Marcus Georges-Hunt. Those two were challenged by Tech’s coaching staff after combining for only 11 points on 3-for-16 shooting in the Yellow Jackets’ loss at Vanderbilt.
The duo answered Sunday night with 24 points from Golden and 10 from Georges-Hunt – the only Yellow Jackets in double-digits – as they combined to shoot 12-for-23 from the floor.
One of the two made a big play every time Charlotte made a run down the stretch, including three of Golden’s four 3-pointers, a couple of free throws, and two key jump shots from Georges-Hunt.
“He did not play well last week at Vanderbilt, and I think that kind of ticked him off,” Gregory said of Georges-Hunt. “Because we can’t be a good team unless he plays well.”
After leading by a tentative three at halftime, 27-24, Tech dumped it down inside to Robert Carter Jr. and Daniel Miller on consecutive possessions to start the second half. Then Georges-Hunt drained an outside jumper and made a monster drive and two-handed dunk to give Tech a 32-24 lead.
With 49ers coach Alan Major calling for a timeout, Golden gave Georges-Hunt a hand-stinging five and “attaboy” as the Yellow Jackets took their first real momentum of the game. But between Tech’s carelessness against the press and some hot shooting by the 49ers from 3-point range, Charlotte made it a game.
Tech is still searching offensively, with Golden, a combo guard, forced into most of the ball-handling duties and Gregory trying to find some consistent production elsewhere on the perimeter.
Senior Jason Morris got his first start of the year, in place of Chris Bolden. He played 23 minutes – three times what he’d contributed in his first two games back from foot surgery.
“We’ve got to get some guys playing better,” Gregory said. “I thought Quinton Stephens really gave us a lift today. I thought Jason Morris gave us a lift. Corey (Heyward) gave us a lift. But we need Chris Bolden. We’ve got to get a couple guys that have shown in the past that they can help us back on track for us to get ready (for ACC play).”
Gregory will keep an eye on Carter Jr. who tweaked his knee but was able to return Sunday night, as well as Golden, who had to leave for a stretch with calf cramping and still felt it after the game.
“I asked the doctors ‘Am I still supposed to be feeling it right now?” Golden said. “It’ll be all right though, nothing that will hold me out of the game.”
