Feb. 01, 2014
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Marcus Georges-Hunt scored a career-high 23 points and Georgia Tech held on to beat Wake Forest 79-70 on Saturday. Daniel Miller added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (12-10, 3-6 Atlantic Coast Conference).
They shot 49 percent, used an impressive run that bridged the halves and held off the Demon Deacons’ late surge despite the loss of senior guard and leading scorer Trae Golden, who suffered a groin injury in the first half and did not return.
Travis McKie scored a career-high 26 points for Wake Forest (14-8, 4-5), and his 3-pointer with 3:10 left made it 69-64.
But he missed one two possessions later. Georges-Hunt followed with a layup that made it a seven-point game with 1 1/2 minutes left, Chris Bolden intercepted Devin Thomas’ inbounds pass and Kammeon Holsey hit two free throws to push the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 73-64.
Bolden added 12 points for Georgia Tech. The ACC’s second-worst 3-point-shooting team hit six 3s – all in the first half – against a Wake Forest defense that entered as the league’s second-best at defending the arc.
Codi Miller-McIntyre, who averages 14.6 points, scored all 10 of his points in the first half but didn’t play in the second after injuring an ankle while going for a rebound with 4.9 seconds left.
Wake Forest, which had its 13-game winning streak at Joel Coliseum ended three nights earlier by No. 2 Syracuse – has lost two in a row at home for the first time in nearly two years.
Holsey finished with 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, who also lost a high-scoring guard in the first half. Leading scorer Trae Golden, who also averages 14.6 points, suffered an apparent groin injury midway through the first half for Brian Gregory’s injury-riddled team.
One of the key plays in this one was a 3-pointer that Wake Forest had taken off the board.
Coron Williams appeared to have pulled the Demon Deacons within four points by rattling in a 3 with 14 1/2 minutes left. But the officials conferred and determined that Tyler Cavanaugh pulled the net while the ball was on the rim, disallowing the bucket.
Quinton Stephens followed with a long jumper to put Georgia Tech up by nine. Miller added a hook shot before and Stacey Poole Jr. each hit free throws to help the Yellow Jackets match their largest lead, 58-45, with 12 minutes left.
The Yellow Jackets showed some remarkable efficiency during a 24-8 run that started in the first half and ended in the second. Georgia Tech scored on 12 of 15 possessions and Bolden did much of the damage.
He scored 12 points during the run, and beat the halftime buzzer with a long 3-pointer. That was the Yellow Jackets’ sixth 3 of the half – or, more than they hit in 13 of their previous 21 full games.
