Dec. 29, 2013
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Senior guard Trae Golden scored a game-high 24 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left, to lead Georgia Tech past Charlotte 58-55 on Sunday night.
A 3-point attempt by Charlotte’s Pierria Henry swished through the net and at first appeared to tie the game at the final buzzer, but it was ruled he did not get the shot off in time after a television replay.
The victory improved Georgia Tech’s record to 9-4, while Charlotte fell to 8-4.
Marcus Georges-Hunt added 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, while Daniel Miller had nine points and nine rebounds. Miller, a 6-foot-11 senior center, also was responsible for playing solid defense on 49ers center Mike Thorne Jr., who came into the game shooting .515 from the field and averaging 11 points but was held to three points on 1-for-9 shooting.
Denzel Ingram led Charlotte with 20 points, hitting 8 of 10 field-goal attempts. The only other Charlotte player to reach double figures in scoring was Willie Clayton with 11 points.
The 49ers were held to 33-percent shooting from the floor, making only 20 of 60 attempts.
A 3-pointer from Charlotte’s Shawn Lester with 10 seconds left tied the game at 55 after Georgia Tech led virtually the entire second half but never by more than eight points. Lester had missed 12 of his 14 field-goal tries overall and all six of his 3-point attempts in the game up until that point.
Georgia Tech led 27-24 at halftime after a gritty first 20 minutes in which both teams shot the ball poorly – other than a couple of players. Ingram made 5 of 6 field-goal attempts for 11 of his points in the opening half, while Tech’s Carter Jr. made 4 of 6 from the field for all eight of his points in the game.
Overall, though, the Yellow Jackets were 11 of 28 for 39 percent from the field in the first half and the 49ers were 10 for 28 for just under 36 percent.
Georgia Tech heated up in the second half, but Charlotte remained cold except for Ingram – until Lester hit the game-tying 3-pointer after the Yellow Jackets turned it over against the 49ers’ full-court press.
Golden hit the only four 3-pointers of the game for Georgia Tech, going 4 for 7 from behind the arc. The rest of his team was a combined 0 for 10.
