Dec. 5, 2015
NEW ORLEANS (AP)– Marcus Georges-Hunt doesn’t mind a little noise from his coach.
So when the Georgia Tech guard got an earful from coach Brian Gregory during halftime of Saturday night’s game, he tuned in, and then turned up the volume.
Georges-Hunt scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Georgia Tech over Tulane 76-68.
“It wasn’t as bad as I’ve had before,” Georges-Hunt said of Gregory’s talk after leading Georgia Tech (6-2) to a win. “It just shows he cares for me. I respond to it. It makes me play a lot better.”
Georges-Hunt made key plays down the stretch after the Green Wave cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 67-64 with 3:34 remaining. Georges-Hunt’s layup with 2:13 to play stretched the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 69-64, and he took a charge on Tulane’s Malik Morgan with 1:39 remaining to help seal the game.
“We always need (Georges-Hunt) more aggressive,” Gregory said. “He’s a great captain, he’s a great team player. We’re better (this season), so sometimes he defers. But the second half is what we need 40 minutes’ worth of from him.”
Georges-Hunt shot 7 of 13 from the floor, including 5 of 9 in the second half. Charles Mitchell had 14 points with 14 rebounds for his eighth double-double in as many games. Nick Jacobs scored 15 points, and Adam Smith added 13 points for the Yellow Jackets.
Louis Dabney led Tulane (5-4) with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Morgan scored 14 points and made all six of his field-goal attempts.
Georgia Tech finished on 43.5 percent shooting, and 38.2 percent from the floor after halftime, but outscored the Green Wave 37-30 in the second half.
Leading 42-41 with 16:41 to play, Georgia Tech went on an 11-2 spurt to take its first double-digit lead on a 3-point play by Georges-Hunt.
The Yellow Jackets used a 17-4 run to take a 23-15 lead with 10:35 to play in the first half, but Tulane answered with eight straight points to tie the game, and the Green Wave trailed 39-38 at halftime only after a Jacobs layup with 46 seconds to play put the Yellow Jackets in front.
TIP-INS
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets entered the game ninth nationally in offensive rebounds, averaging 16.3 per game. They had 11 offensive rebounds in the game, but seven in a two-possession stretch of the second half. … Charles Mitchell’s streak of eight straight double-doubles is the most for a Georgia Tech player since the school joined the ACC in 1979. … No player had a string of double-doubles longer than five games at any point in a season prior to Mitchell’s run. … The Yellow Jackets lead the series 37-33 against the Green Wave.
Tulane: Georgia Tech’s 38-37 rebounding edge marked the second time this season the Green Wave have been outrebounded. . The Green Wave had won three of the past four meetings.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech will host Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 15. Tulane hosts Prairie View A&M on Dec. 14.
