Nov. 24, 2013
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ATLANTA (AP) – Trailing by double digits in the second half, the Georgia Tech men’s basketball team staged a late rally on Sunday afternoon to defeat North Carolina A&T, 78-71, at McCamish Pavilion.
Trae Golden led the Jackets with season highs of 20 points and seven assists. The senior point guard also knocked down 11 of 12 free throw attempts while playing a game-high 38 minutes.
In turn, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Kammeon Holsey and Daniel Miller also reached double figures at 16, 10 and 10 points respectively. Miller did so despite playing only 20 minutes as a result of foul trouble. Robert Carter Jr. secured a career-high 13 rebounds along with nine points in what Tech head coach Brian Gregory called a “warrior’s effort.”
After jumping out to a nine-point lead, the Jackets succumbed to a 23-7 Aggie run that gave A&T a 32-25 advantage with two minutes remaining in the first half. The Jackets trailed 37-33 at halftime after hitting just 39.3 percent from the field and missing 10 of 18 free throws.
With the Aggie lead at a game-high 11 points with just under 14 minutes remaining in the second half, Tech coach Brian Gregory called a timeout. The Jackets responded with a furious 14-3 run to tie the game at 52 apiece in less than two minutes time, scoring five consecutive baskets, including two “and-1” plays from Carter, Jr.
Two made free throws from Stacey Poole Jr. gave the Jackets a 68-66 lead with just under five minutes remaining, and Tech would take the lead all the way to the final buzzer. The Yellow Jacket defense held the Aggies to a total of five points and only one made field goal in the final 5:44. Meanwhile, the Jackets drilled 11 of their final 13 free throws to close out the win.
The Jackets converted 21 of 28 attempts from the line after intermission. Their 46 free throw attempts were the most for a Tech team since the November, 2006 and exceeded the highest total under Gregory by 10.
The Aggies received 44 points from their bench, including the team’s two leading scorers in Rachaud Pack (19 points) and Khary Doby (17 points). A&T’s Lamont Middleton and Bruce Beckford each added 12 points. Beckford also grabbed 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season.
Georgia Tech returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at home against Mississippi Valley State.
