Nov. 28, 2008
ATLANTA (AP) — Alade Aminu scored 19 points and Gani Lawal had 15 points with 12 rebounds to help Georgia Tech hold off Jacksonville’s late charge in a 79-76 victory on Friday night.
Ben Smith’s 30 points led Jacksonville, which went on a 33-13 run to trail 77-74 with 40.8 seconds remaining, but his effort wasn’t enough to keep the Dolphins (0-5) from avoiding their worst start since 1996-97.
Georgia Tech (4-0) had two 23-point leads, the second coming on Lawal’s dunk with 1 minute left.
But the Yellow Jackets’ free-throw shooting nearly buried them. Ranked 312th before the game with a 59.0 percentage from the line, Georgia Tech hit just 7 of 14 in the final 1:21.
Despite Jacksonville’s struggles this season, the Dolphins continued a trend of staying close late in the game, but they now have lost at Baylor, No. 22 Georgetown and Georgia Tech by a 7.2 average.
