Nov. 25, 2005
ATLANTA (AP) – Josh Mayo scored 21 points and Jovan Stefanov pulled down 11 rebounds as Illinois-Chicago took a 73-51 victory over Georgia Tech on Friday night.
Coming off a one-point loss Tuesday to crosstown rival St. Xavier, Illinois-Chicago won its first game against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
Justin Bowen finished with 14 points for the Flames (3-2). Othyus Jeffers and Elliott Poole each had 10. Zam Fredrick led Georgia Tech with 17 points.
Illinois-Chicago nearly upset Georgia Tech last December but fell 60-59 to the No. 3 Yellow Jackets. That game drew the second-largest crowd in the 23-year history of the UIC Pavilion.
Georgia Tech (2-1) entered with victories over North Carolina-Asheville and Elon, but the Yellow Jackets will face a dramatic rise in competition when they visit No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday.
Beginning the second half with a four-point lead, Illinois-Chicago went up 51-41 on Stefanov’s putback at the 12:08 mark.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt soon called for a full-court press that resulted in three quick steals and baskets, the last of which cut the lead to 45-39 on Alade Aminu’s layin with 10:26 remaining.
The bottom quickly fell out on the Yellow Jackets, however, as Stefanov hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 10 and Robert Bush nailed a 3-pointer that gave the Flames a 54-41 lead with six minutes remaining.
Georgia Tech was just 4-for-13 on free throws, including an 0-for-6 performance by starting forward Jeremis Smith. The Yellow Jackets were just 3-for-20 on 3-point attempts. Starting guard Anthony Morrow and reserve swingman Lewis Clinch combined to go just 1-for-10 on attempts beyond the arc.
Losing six integral players who helped him advance to the national title game two seasons ago and into the second round of the Albuquerque Regional last season, Hewitt watched his team shoot just 33 percent and get beaten on rebounds 50-34.
Each team committed 20 turnovers.
