Cincinnati, Ohio – Georgia Tech trailed by just eight points at the half, but Cincinnati used a barrage of three-pointers and inside scoring to run away with an 89-54 victory over the Yellow Jackets Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Leading 40-32 at the break, the Bearcats (5-0) made 13 of their first 15 shots from the floor after intermission, while the Yellow Jackets (2-2) connected on just 3-of-14 over the same time frame, as Cincinnati outscored Tech 40-7 over the first 10-and-a-half minutes, extending their lead to 80-39.
Cincinnati hit six consecutive three-point baskets during the surge, and finished the game 14-of-35 from long range.
Meanwhile, Tech finished with season lows of 34.7 percent from the floor and 5-of-17 from three-point distance, and a season high 19 turnovers, which the Bearcats turned into 20 points.
Junior Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (Macon, Ga.) led Tech in the scoring column with 14 points, his third double-digit game in four outings this season, while junior Miles Kelly (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added 12 to reach double figures in his 12th straight game.
Two freshmen made their debuts for the Yellow Jackets. Forward Baye Ndongo (Mboro, Senegal) started and played 24 minutes after missing the first three games of the season, tallying eight points and eight rebounds. Point guard Naithan George (Toronto, Canada) came off the bench to give the Jackets eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Viktor Lahkin led three Bearcats in double figures with 15 points, all on three-point baskets, while Clemson transfer John Newman III scored 12 and C.J. Fredrick added 11.
Tech returns home for its next game against Mississippi State on the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion, and the game will be televised live on the ACC Network.
Miles Kelly (13) reached double figures for the 12th straight game, scoring 12 points. (photo courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM TRENDS
- Tech has played its first four games without its full roster complement due to various injuries. Freshman forward Baye Ndongo played for the first time at Cincinnati, while sophomore forward Tafara Gapare did not travel to Cincinnati after starting the first three games. Senior guard Lance Terry, Tech’s No. 2 scorer last year, has not yet played this season.
- Three players made their Yellow Jacket debuts at Cincinnati – Ndongo, freshman point guard Naithan George and non-scholarship forward Emmer Nichols, who is in his second season with the program.
- With the debuts of Ndongo and George, three of the Yellow Jackets’ four freshmen have now seen action this season.
- At least nine players have seen the court in each of Tech’s four games (10 vs. Howard, 12 vs. Cincinnati). Ten players average 13 or more minutes per game.
- Tech had its best performance of the season from the free throw line at Cincinnati (15-of-19).
- Tech blocked a season-high 10 shots at Cincinnati, including three each by Ndongo and Kowacie Reeves, Jr.
- Tech’s eight assists were a season low.
- Cincinnati’s 14 three-point field goals were the third-most ever given up by the Jackets in a game (most is 16 by Duke in 2017).
PLAYER NOTES
- Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has reached double figures in three of four games this season – 15 each vs. Georgia Southern and Howard, 14 at Cincinnati. The junior is third on Tech’s scoring chart with 12.0 points per game.
- Reeves went 4-for-4 from the foul line at Cincinnati and has hit 13-of-14 for the season.
- Miles Kelly extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 12 after tallying 12 points against Cincinnati. He has averaged 19.4 points per game over that stretch.
- Kelly has 11 offensive rebounds this season through four games, second on the team behind Tyzhaun Claude’s 12. Kelly had 10 all of last season.
- Freshman forward Baye Ndongo made his Yellow Jacket debut at Cincinnati, starting in place of the injured Tafara Ndongo. He scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- Deebo Coleman missed both of his three-point attempts at Cincinnati and saw his streak one three-point field goal in 18 consecutive games come to an end. He is 9-of-18 this season from distance, still the best mark on the team.
- Coleman committed his first turnover of the season at Cincinnati. It is his only miscue in nearly 99 minutes of action across four games.
- Kyle Sturdivant has 17 assists against four turnovers through four games. He had four assists and no turnovers at Cincinnati and leads Tech in assist average with 4.3 per game.
Kowacie Reeves, Jr., led the Jackets with 14 point, his third double-figue game this season. (photo courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
