November 16, 2018

Jackets Shoot Past ECU

THE FLATS — Georgia Tech men’s basketball closed the first half with a 30-11 run and never looked back en route to a 79-54 win over East Carolina on Friday night at McCamish Pavilion.

Georgia Tech (2-1) trailed 13-10 more than midway through the opening half but made 11 of its final 14 shots of the period to take a 40-24 halftime lead. The Yellow Jackets stretched the advantage to as large as 32 points in the second half.

The Jackets shot 49.1 percent from the field, including a 52.9-percent mark (9-of-17) from three-point range, while limiting East Carolina (2-2) to just 35.6-percent shooting from the field and 11.8 percent from beyond the arc (2-of-17).

Curtis Haywood II led Georgia Tech with game-high 18 points while freshman Michael Devoe added 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting (2-of-2 from three-point range). James Banks II grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in his home debut while Jose Alvarado dished out a game-high six assists.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Wednesday when they host UT Rio Grande Valley at 7:30 p.m.

Postgame Notes

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Georgia Tech starting lineup: Alvarado, Haywood II, Phillips, Cole, Gueye
First subs for Georgia Tech: Alston, Banks, Devoe for Haywood, Phillips, Wright – 15:04-1^st half
On the floor for Georgia Tech at the end: Jester, Medlock, Ogbonda, Rice, Schafer
Opening tap won by ECU: Georgia Tech has won the opening tap 0 times in 3 games last season
Series record vs. ECU: Georgia Tech is 4-1 overall, 3-1 at home, 1-0 under Josh Pastner, 1-0 vs. Joe Dooley
Current series streak: Georgia Tech has won the last four meetings
Georgia Tech is 2-0 at McCamish Pavilion this season, 74-37 in its sixth season in the building, 31-11 under Josh Pastner
Georgia Tech is 0-1 on the road this season, 0-1 away from McCamish Pavilion
Georgia Tech’s next game: Wednesday, Nov. 21 (7:30 p.m.) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley [ACC Network Extra]

TEAM NOTES

Georgia Tech has held its three opponents an average of 17.3 points under their scoring averages – breakdown by game: Lamar 75.3 (69), Tennessee 86.5 (66), East Carolina 79.0 (54).
Tech has deployed nine players for significant minutes (10 or more per game) in each of its three games so far. All 12 scholarship players saw action at Tennessee and 11 (all except injured Evan Cole) against East Carolina.
Tech has yielded just 11 three-point field goals in its first three games (24.4 percent). The Jackets allowed an average of 7.1 per game and a success rate of 37.9 percent last season.
Conversely, Tech has attempted 66 threes (22 per game) and made 24 (8.0 per game), compared to averages of 15.3 attempts and 4.9 made per game in 2018-19.
Defensively, Tech has forced 54 turnovers (18.0 per game) and taken 29 steals (9.7 per game). The Jackets forced an average of 12.6 turnovers per game last season and took 6.9 steals per game.
Tech has shot an even 50 percent from the floor in its two home games (50.8 percent against Lamar, 49.1 percent against East Carolina), while connecting on 21 of 47 three-point attempts (44.7 percent).
Tech held East Carolina to 35.6 percent from the floor in the game, more than 10 percent below the Pirates’ rate in their first three games. It was the third straight game the Jackets have limited their opponent to less than 40 percent. Tech is 26-8 when doing so under Josh Pastner.
Tech’s bench outscored that of East Carolina, 35-24. Yellow Jacket reserves have scored 110 points in three games.

PASTNER’S KEY METRICS

Assists to made field goals: Tech assisted on 12 of 26 made field goals (46.2 percent) against East Carolina, below its nightly goal of 60 percent. The Jackets are at 58.1 percent (43 of 74) for the season.
Free throws made to opponents’ attempts: Tech connected on 18-of-25 free throw attempts to East Carolina’s 10-of-19 (nightly goal of making more than opponent tries not accomplished). Tech is 31-10 under Josh Pastner when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
Turnovers: Tech has forced 54 turnovers (18.0 per game) and taken 29 steals (9.7 per game). The Jackets forced an average of 12.6 turnovers per game last season and took 6.9 steals per game.
Guard rebounding: Tech’s guards combined for nine of Tech’s 29 defensive rebounds against East Carolina, three each by Jose Alvarado and Curtis Haywood II.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Moses Wright started for Georgia Tech against East Carolina in place of Evan Cole, who was sidelined with a sprained left ankle suffered in the Tennessee game Tuesday night. He played 16:37 and scored six points with six rebounds.
Curtis Haywood II reached double figures in points for the sixth time in his career (18 games), scoring a career-high 18 points against East Carolina with three three-point field goals. He went 5-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-5 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Jose Alvarado collected a season-high six assists and three steals while going 4-for-7 from the floor (nine points) in a team-high 27 minutes.
Freshman guard Michael Devoe posted his first double-digit game with 13 points, and was perfect from the floor (4-for-4, 3-for-3 on 3s) with a season-best four steals in 27 minutes.
Brandon Alston fell short of his third straight double digit game (nine points) against East Carolina, but connected on his only three-point attempt and is 5-of-7 for the season. Alston is 13-for-24 from the floor overall in three games.
Transfer James Banks has averaged 5.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 16 minutes in his two games.