Alabama Upends Tech, 93-65, in Exhibition Game

Final Box Score (pdf) | Full game book/play-by-play (pdf) | Multimedia  | Postgame Notes

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Evan Cole scored 18 points to lead four Georgia Tech players in double figures, but Alabama overwhelmed the Yellow Jackets with a barrage of three-point shots to capture a 93-65 exhibition victory over Tech Sunday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.

Georgia Tech, who outshot Alabama overall from the floor, 43.1 to 41.6 percent, had no answer for Alabama’s hot hand from long range as the Tide connected on 17 three-point baskets in 37 attempts.

Tech trailed by just eight at the half, but Alabama hit eight of its first 10 3-point attempts in the second half, and led by as many as 28 in the game. The Jackets also struggled to take care of the ball, amassing 24 turnovers that led to 21 Alabama points.

Cole came off the bench to score 18 points, hitting 7-for-10 shots from the field. Michael Devoe and Moses Wright scored 12 apiece, while Jose Alvarado had 11.

Jaden Shackelford led the way for Alabama with 21 points off the bench, hitting 6-for-10 on threes, while Kira Lewis, Jr., added 20. Six different Alabama players made at least one three-point shot.

“First of all, good opportunity for us to play against a good team,” said head coach Josh Pastner. “Coach Oats obviously does a great job. He’s going to have a great career here at Alabama with a lot of wins as well. Their team is really good. The Shackelford kid, man can he shoot the ball. When you’re making threes like that everything looks good. Our last exhibition game, not the same competition, we had a bunch of threes and everything just flows better.

“We scheduled this game to give us an opportunity to get better. I played a lot of guys. Since the game doesn’t count on the record, I could try to play 11 guys. These two exhibition games have given us the opportunity to see some things that we need to get better on and who’s going to be in the rotation, and we will just keep working.”

The Yellow Jackets open the 2019-20 regular season next Tuesday, Nov. 5, with an Atlantic Coast Conference game against NC State at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

Bubba Parham went scoreless (0-4 FG) but had four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 17:12.

-Head coach Josh Pastner

Post-Game Notes

• Georgia Tech starting lineup: Jose Alvarado, Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore, Moses Wright, James Banks III
• Tech’s starting five in the game combined to hit 35-of-68 shots from the floor in the two exhibition games. Wright was 9-of-14, Moore was 4-of-5, Banks was 6-of-13 and Alvarado was 10-of-22.
• All 10 of Georgia Tech’s available scholarship players competed in the opening half. Michael Devoe, who missed the first three weeks of preseason practice rehabbing a toe injury, was held out of the Georgia College game as a precaution but played a team-high 27:13 at Alabama. Jordan Usher, a transfer from Southern California, is not eligible to play until Dec. 18 vs. Ball State.
• Tech connected on five three-point field goals in the game, 16 in the two exhibition games combined.
• The Jackets shot 43 percent from the field for the game, but were just 5-for-18 from three and 10-for-17 on three-throws.
• Tech was outrebounded 44-32. The Crimson Tide pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second-chance points.
• Assists to made field goals: Tech assisted on 29 of its 60 field goals (just 60 percent) in the two exhibition games. The Jackets finished last season at 57.4 percent overall (46th in the nation) and 56.4 percent in ACC games. Tech’s nightly goal is 60 percent.
• Free throws made to opponents’ attempts: Tech went 27-of-43 from the free throw line in the two exhibitions, while while the two opponents were 19-of-24, accomplishing its nightly mission of making more free throws than the opponent attempts. The Jackets are 39-17 under Josh Pastner when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
• Turnovers: Tech committed 41 turnovers in the two exhibition games, Tech averaged 14.3 turnovers per game in ACC play, and only forced 11.3, last year. Target each night is to commit 11 or fewer, which Tech met only three times all season (all in the last four games). More telling for Tech under Josh Pastner is that when Tech has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent, it is 22-15. When it has committed more, it is 23-30.
• Guard rebounding: Tech’s players outside of Banks, Cole and Wright collected 15 of the Jackets’ 28 defensive rebounds.
• Evan Cole, who is James Banks’ backup at the center position, posted a double-double against Georgia College with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and led the Jackets against Alabama with 18 points. The 6-10 junior went 11-of-17 from the floor combined in the two games.
• Michael Devoe, who missed the first three weeks of preseason practice rehabbing a toe injury, saw his first action of the year, starting for the Jackets and finishing with 12 points in a team-high 27 minutes.
• James Banks III pulled down eight rebounds and had four blocked shots to go along with six points.
• Moses Wright scored 12 points in each of the two exhibition games, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 from the foul line.
• Bubba Parham went scoreless (0-4 FG) but had four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 17:12.

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