THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball put itself back in the win column on Saturday afternoon, taking advantage of strong second half defense and 23-point showings from both senior guard Lamar Washington and redshirt-senior forward Kowacie Reeves Jr. to defeat Monmouth 79-67 inside McCamish Pavilion. The Jackets made the difference at the line, hitting a season high 80.8 % of their free throws (21-26) while shooting a very strong 65.2 % from the field in the second half to come away with the 12-point win.
Washington and Reeves combined for 46 points (23 each) in the victory, marking the first time this year that two Yellow Jackets delivered 20-plus points in the same game. It was the second-straight game with 23 points for Reeves, who delivered his career high matching performance on half as many field goal attempts (23 points on 20 FGA last game, 23 points on 10 FGA today). Washington enjoyed his best statistical performance in White & Gold, finishing with a season-high 23 points, a season-high eight rebounds and a team-high six assists. Joining them in double-digits, once again, was freshman center Mouhamed Sylla who finished just short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Jackets had the deep ball working early in the opening half, draining four three-pointers in the first 10 minutes of game action to take the early lead. Monmouth wouldn’t go down without a fight, applying consistent pressure on Tech’s ball handlers, resulting in a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes. The Jackets went into the break with a one-point lead (32-21) thanks to Reeves’ 12 points, including drilling all three of his free throw shots with 0.4 seconds on the clock. Washington stuffed the stat sheet in the opening frame as well, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Both teams continued to trade blows into the second half with none bigger than a posturizing dunk from Reeves that sent Tech on a 5-0 mini-run midway through the period.
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When it mattered most, the Jackets delivered, outscoring Monmouth 17-8 in the final five minutes, shooting 75% from the field as a team (6-of-8) while holding the Eagles to just 30% (3-of-10). That stretch allowed for what was a three-point lead to balloon to as many as 15 points in the waning minutes before a three-pointer in garbage time left the final score at 79-67.
Another standout on the Tech side of the ball was freshman center Cole Kirouac. He got his first meaningful minutes of the year and delivered two points, four rebounds, an assist and a pair of blocks.
Georgia Tech will take a week off for finals before hosting Marist on Tuesday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. inside McCamish Pavilion. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Kowacie Reeves delivered a 23-point performance for the second straight game, this time doing so on only 10 field goal attempts (Danny Karnik photo).
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Georgia Tech got back to winning ways and snapped a three-game skid on Saturday. The win moved Tech to 6-4 on the season.
- Tech improved its overall record to 2-0 when facing Monmouth and 33-3 when competing against current members of the Coastal Athletic Association.
- Kowacie Reeves Jr. and Lamar Washington each scored 23 points, marking the first time since Feb. 25, 2025 that two Yellow Jackets scored 20 or more points in the same game.
- As a team, Tech shot 80.0 percent (21-26) from the free throw line for a season-best performance. Tech’s 21 made free throws also marked a season-high and second time hitting 20-plus in a game this year.
- The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle, 42-36, for the fifth time this season, and first since West Georgia (Nov. 23).
- Tech saw a different starting lineup against Monmouth. The Jackets have now used five different lineups this season. Tech was without starting big, Baye Ndongo, for the second game this season.
- Three players are averaging double-figure points through Tech’s first 10 games – Kowacie Reeves Jr. (14.8), Baye Ndongo (11.8) and Mouhamed Sylla (11.2). Lamar Washington is on the cusp at 9.9 points per game.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Freshman Cole Kirouac provided a spark on defense coming off the bench in the first half. The Cumming, Ga., native scored his first collegiate bucket at the 8:34 mark of the first half. Kirouac saw a season-high 14:21 minutes of playing time today and finished with four rebounds, two points, two blocks and an assist.
- Kowacie Reeves Jr. led all scorers at halftime with 12 points after giving the Yellow Jackets the halftime lead, draining three free throws to close the half. Reeves finished with 23 points to match his career-high, set just a game ago. It was his second-straight 20-plus outing and fourth of his career.
- Reeves went 6-for-7 from the free throw line to move his stat line to 21-for-27 on the season. He is shooting a team-high 77.8 percent from the charity stripe to date.
- Reeves drained a trio of three-pointers in the game for his seventh game hitting multiple treys this season.
- Lamar Washington earned his first start donning the White and Gold and returned to double-figures. The senior finished with a season-high 23 points for his fourth game with 10 or more points this season and 28th of his career.
- For the fifth-straight game, Washington led the Yellow Jackets in assists, dishing out six on the day. Washington now owns six games this season with five or more assists, including five straight dating back to West Georgia on Nov. 23. The senior boasts a team-high 40 assists on the year for a 5.0 assists per game average.
- Washington led Georgia Tech at the free throw line against the Hawks, converting 8-of-9 attempts, both season-highs.
- Washington was efficient from the floor overall, converting 7-of-9 field goal attempts for a 77.8 percent efficiency. His 77.8 percent field goal conversion marked the best by a Yellow Jacket this season. It also marks the best FG% by a Jacket since Baye Ndongo was 11-for-14 against California on Feb. 15, 2025 (minimum 5 FGM).
- Freshman Mouhamed Sylla completed Tech’s trio of Jackets in double-figures, adding 13 points to the scoreboard. Sylla just missed a double-double, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds. Sylla now owns eight games this season with at least 10 points and has led Tech on the glass six times this season.
Freshman center Cole Kirouac scored his first collegiate points tonight (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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