THE FLATS – Led by Kowacie Reeves Jr. and Kam Craft, Georgia Tech men’s basketball put together one of the best 3-point shooting performances in school history in its 87-76 win over Marist on Tuesday evening at McCamish Pavilion.
Georgia Tech (7-4) made 8-of-11 3-pointers as a team (.727), which fell just shy of the school record of .778 (7-of-9), which has happened three times in Tech history, but not since a 120-107 win over Texas in the semifinals of the 1991 Preseason NIT (Nov. 27, 1991). Making the Yellow Jackets’ sharp-shooting from beyond the arc even more impressive is the fact that Marist (7-3) came into the night ranked sixth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.252) and 10th in scoring defense (61.9 ppg).
Reeves and Craft were the hottest of the Yellow Jackets’ white-hot shooters, as they went 3-for-5 and 2-for-3, respectively. Reeves finished with a game-high 21 points, as he topped 20 points for the third-straight game and 18 for the fourth time in his last five outings.
In addition to recording its best 3-point percentage in 34 years, Tech also set a season high for overall field goal percentage (.579) and matched a season high for points.
All five of Georgia Tech’s starters scored in double figures, with Mouhamed Sylla (14 points), Akai Fleming (13), Lamar Washington (11) and Craft (10) joining Reeves atop the box score for the Jackets. Washington also dished out 10 assists for his first double-double as a Yellow Jacket, while Sylla fell just two rebounds short of a double-double of his own. Not only did Reeves lead the Jackets in scoring, but the redshirt-senior also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Tech closed the first half on a 12-1 run to turn a three-point deficit into an eight-point halftime lead (44-36). The Jackets extended the lead to as large as 23 points in the second half and cruised to the victory.
Georgia Tech closes its pre-holidays schedule on Saturday when it hosts Lafayette at 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
Kowacie Reeves topped 20 points for the third-straight game with his 21-point showing in Tuesday’s win over Marist (Danny Karnik photo).
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Georgia Tech improved to 7-4 overall on the season and 5-0 in the all-time series against Marist after Tuesday’s win.
- The win also pushed Tech to 7-1 at home, marking the best start in McCamish Pavilion since the 2015-16 season when the Jackets opened 8-1.
- All five of Georgia Tech’s starters finished in double figures, marking just the second time this season five Yellow Jackets logged double figure outings. The other was at Georgia on Nov. 14. It also marked the seventh time this season at least four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures.
- The last time all five Georgia Tech starters posted double figures dates back to Feb. 15, 2023 versus Virginia Tech. The Jackets took the win over the Hokies, 77-70, in McCamish Pavilion.
- Georgia Tech dished out a season-high 21 assists on the evening paced by Lamar Washington’s Washington has now led Georgia Tech in assists in the last six games. Meanwhile, Chas Kelley III logged six assists for a season-best.
- Tech’s 21 assists marked the third time this season the Yellow Jackets have dished out 20 or more assists in a game.
- Kowacie Reeves Jr. and Lamar Washington both recorded double-doubles on the night. Two Yellow Jackets have now recorded double-doubles in the same game three times this season – Baye Ndongo and Mouhamed Sylla recorded back-to-back games with double-doubles against Georgia Southern (Nov. 18) and West Georgia (Nov. 23).
- Georgia Tech converted 76.5 percent of its free throw attempts (13-17) paced by a perfect 6-for-6 effort from Reeves.
- Tech shot 57.9 percent (33-57) from the field, setting a season-high. The Jackets have shot over 50.0 percent from the field twice this season.
- The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle, 35-26, for the sixth time this season.
- Marist finished the game shooting 45.2 percent (28-62), including a 48.1 percent (13-27) effort from three-point range.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Senior Lamar Washington recorded his fourth career double-double, and first at Georgia Tech, behind 11 points and 10 assists. His 10 assists marked a season-high and fourth time in his career dishing out 10 or more assists in a game. Washington pulled down six rebounds, just shy of a triple-double.
- Redshirt-senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for his second collegiate career double-double. The 10 rebounds matched his career-high set against Alabama A&M on Dec. 9, 2023.
- Reeves has now scored 20-plus points in three-straight games dating back to Mississippi State on Dec. 3. He now owns six career games with 20 or more points.
- Mouhamed Sylla just missed a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds. Sylla has now scored in double-figures in three-straight games and eight times this season.
- Akai Fleming got back to double digits, contributing 13 points to the scoreboard. Fleming was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and went 4-for-5 at the free throw line. Fleming owns seven games this season in double-figures and has scored 10-plus in four of his past five outings.
- Kam Craft added 10 points for the Jackets, converting 2-of-3 from three-point distance. It was his fourth game as a Jacket in double-figures.
- Georgia Tech saw 18 points off its bench, led by eight from Chas Kelley III and four from Davi Remagen, who played a season-high 12:55 minutes. Kelley also saw a season-high in playing time, taking the floor for 25:09.
- Cole Kirouac continued to bring a spark off the bench, seeing 9:44 of playing time and adding four points off a pair of crowd-pleasing dunks.
Lamar Washington posted his first double-double as a Yellow Jacket with 11 points and 10 assists against Marist (Danny Karnik photo).
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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.
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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.
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