THE FLATS – In one of the best offensive displays of the season, Georgia Tech men’s basketball secured its best home start in a decade on Saturday afternoon, defeating Lafayette 95-81 inside McCamish Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets set a new season high for points scored thanks to a season high in both free throws made (26) and free throw percentage (85% – 26-for-30) to improve to 8-1 at home, the best start since 2015-16.
For the first time this season, Tech had three players drop exactly 20 points – Kowacie Reeves Jr., Lamar Washington and Akai Fleming. For Reeves, it was his fourth straight 20-point outing, giving him a 21.75 point-per-game clip in the month of December. Washington delivered his second-straight double-double, finishing with 20 points and 10 assists along with five rebounds. Fleming set a career-high with his 20 points off just four made shots, finishing 4-for-8 from the field and an incredible 11-for-12 (91.7 %) from the free throw line. Sophomore Peyton Marshall also finished with a career high 10 points off the bench, thanks to a 4-for-4 performance from the field in just 15 minutes of action.
Tech maintained its sizzling three-point shooting in the opening half, drilling six of eight shots from deep (75%) to hold a 49-43 advantage. Washington was tremendous in the opening 20 minutes, leading the team in points (10), assists (seven), rebounds (three) and steals (three) without committing a turnover.
The Jackets led from start to finish in the second half, using a 7-0 scoring run with less than 10 minutes left to open up a double-digit lead that Lafayette couldn’t recover from. Reeves took matters into his own hands in the second, leading the way with 12 points and seven rebounds. He did most of his damage from the charity stripe, knocking down six of eight foul shots. As a team, the Jackets hit 17-of-20 shots from the line in the second half on their way to a 14-point victory.
Georgia Tech will take an eight day holiday break before hosting Florida A&M in the final non-conference game of the year on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:30 p.m.
Lamar Washington logged his second consecutive double-double with 20 points and 10 assists (Danny Karnik photo).
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Georgia Tech’s 95 points marked the most scored in the Damon Stoudamire era and the most since Feb. 28, 2023 when the Jackets defeated Syracuse, 96-76. Georgia Tech was well on its way to setting the season-high offensively, scoring 49 points in the first half, the most this season, to lead 49-43 at halftime.
- The win moved Georgia Tech to 8-4 on the season, 4-0 against Lafayette and 8-1 in McCamish Pavilion. The 8-1 home start marks the best since 2015-16.
- Georgia Tech owned 14 assists on 17 made field goals at intermission and finished with 21 on 30 made field goals. The Yellow Jackets now own four games dishing out 20 or more assists and two-straight (Tech recorded 21 against Marist on Dec. 16).
- For the game, Tech shot 50.0 percent from the field (30-60), marking the third game this season shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Both teams shot over 50.0 percent from the field in the first half – Tech (56.7%) and Lafayette (51.6%). Lafayette finished at a 44.3 percent clip.
- For the eighth time this season, Georgia Tech saw four Yellow Jackets finish in double-figures – Akai Fleming (20), Peyton Marshall (10), Kowacie Reeves Jr. (20) and Lamar Washington (20).
- The last time four players scored 20 or more points in a game occurred at Florida State on Jan. 18, 2025.
- As a team, Tech finished 26-of-30 at the free throw line for an 86.7 percent efficiency. Akai Fleming led the way, converting 11-of-12, while Kowacie Reeves Jr. went 6-for-8 and Lamar Washington was perfect at 5-for-5.
- Lafayette hit seven three-pointers in the first half, the most Georgia Tech has allowed in the opening 20 minutes this season. It tied the most by an opponent in either half as Georgia Southern and Marist both converted seven triples in second half action. Tech responded by holding Lafayette to a 4-of-19 showing in the second half.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Senior Lamar Washington logged his second straight double-double behind 20 points and 10 assists. Washington now owns two double-doubles in the White and Gold and five in his career. He led Tech at the break with 10 points and seven assists in the first half.
- Washington dished out 10 assists in his second consecutive game, marking the fifth time in his career with 10 or more assists in a contest.
- Redshirt-senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. has dominated play recently and recorded his fourth-straight 20-plus point game, finishing with 20 tonight. Reeves has scored 20 or more in every game in the month of December and owns seven career outings hitting that mark. The Macon, Ga., native just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, leading Tech on the glass.
- Freshman Akai Fleming set a new personal-best against the Leopards, adding 20 points to the scoreboard. Fleming was 4-of-8 from the field, including a three-pointer, and 11-for-12 at the free throw line (both season-highs at the charity stripe). The freshman added five rebounds and three assists.
- Peyton Marshall came off the bench to contribute 10 points, a season-high for the sophomore. Marshall was perfect from the field in 15:47 minutes of playing time, going 4-for-4 and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
- Kam Craft and Mouhamed Sylla just missed double-figure scoring outings, adding nine and eight points, respectively.
Freshman Akai Fleming set a career-high in scoring, contributing 20 points against the Leopards (Danny Karnik photo).
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Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its third year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
Season tickets for men’s basketball can be reserved here.
