Jan 30, 2002
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA – Marvin Lewis scored 18 points to lead a balanced Georgia Tech offense, and the Yellow Jackets gained their first Atlantic Coast Conference game a 77-46 rout of Florida State on Wednesday night.
Georgia Tech (8-13) lost its first seven ACC games before finally breaking through with the biggest victory in a conference game in school history. The Yellow Jackets joined the league in 1979.
Florida State (10-9, 3-5) has yet to win a conference road game, losing five times by an average margin of more than 22 points.
The Yellow Jackets seized control with an 18-4 spurt in the first half and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Lewis hit five 3-pointers but had plenty of help from his teammates. Clarence Moore scored 13, Is’mail Muhammed 12 and Tony Akins 11. Three other players scored at least six points.
Nearing the midway point of the second half, Florida State had the ball with a chance to whittle Georgia Tech’s lead into single digits. But the Seminoles missed and Lewis hit a 3-pointer, giving the Yellow Jackets a 56-42 lead.
The Yellow Jackets finished the game by outscoring Florida State 24-4, eclipsing an 80-50 victory over Clemson on Feb. 1, 1995 for the largest ACC triumph in school history.
Georgia Tech also snapped its worst start in the conference since going 0-14 in 1980-81.
The Seminoles defeated No. 1 Duke 77-76 on Jan. 6 in Tallahassee, but they are a different team away from home. They haven’t been closer than 15 points in any of their ACC road games.
Monte Cummings, with 17 points, was the only player in double figures for Florida State, which shot 35 percent (19-of-54) from the field. Georgia Tech also held a 43-35 rebounding edge.
The Seminoles were held to a season low in points, eclipsing a 68-47 loss to Florida in the Nov. 16 opener.
