THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball (5-1) used powerful post play and its usual smothering defense to fight past West Georgia, 82-66 on Sunday afternoon inside McCamish Pavilion. Junior forward Baye Ndongo stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 14 rebounds and five assists – one of only three players in the Atlantic Coast Conference to record a 10-10-5 double-double, as the Yellow Jackets improved to 5-0 at home this season.
After West Georgia went into the halftime break with a one point lead, 34-33, Tech went on a 10-1 scoring run midway through the second half to establish a nine-point advantage (59-50). The Wolves never got closer than five points away from that point on, with the Jackets leading by double-digits for the final 6:01 of the contest before finally settling on a 16-point win.
The Yellow Jackets dominated the glass all afternoon, out-rebounding UWG 48-28 over the course of the game, proving their prowess in the paint once again by outscoring UWG 52-20 down low.
Offensively, four different Jackets reached double digits, led by 18 points from senior guard Kowacie Reeves Jr. tying his largest point contribution of the season (also 18 vs. Bryant). Junior Kam Craft was next with 15 points over the course of a team-high 33 minutes of playing time. Down low, the Jackets once again saw double-doubles from both starting bigs with Ndongo (14 points and 14 rebounds) and Mouhamed Sylla (13 points and 11 rebounds). It was Ndongo’s second double-double of the season and the fifth for Sylla, who is averaging 13 points and 11.6 rebounds per game inside McCamish Pavilion this year.
Senior Lamar Washington delivered one of his best performances in White & Gold, leading the team with seven assists and only one turnover, while scoring eight points and hauling in four rebounds and securing a steal.
Georgia Tech will travel south this week to participate in the Emerald Coast Classic over Thanksgiving weekend on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. The first matchup for the Jackets will be against DePaul on Friday, Nov. 28, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Lamar Washington finished with seven assists – his most in White & Gold (Photo by Julian Alexander)
Postgame Notes
TEAM NOTES
- Georgia Tech improved to 5-1 on the season, marking the best start in the Damon Stoudamire It is also the first time the Yellow Jackets have reached five wins in November under Stoudamire.
- Tech moved to 5-0 at home on the young season for the first under Damon Stoudamire and first since the 2022-23 season when the Jackets opened 6-0 at home.
- The Yellow Jackets moved its advantage in the all-time series against West Georgia to 2-0 after opening the 2024-25 season with a win over the Wolves. Both meetings took place in McCamish Pavilion.
- The win also marked the second straight over an in-state opponent after the Jackets topped Georgia Southern on Tuesday.
- For the fourth time this season, four Yellow Jackets finished in double figure scoring numbers. Kowacie Reeves Jr. (18), Kam Craft (15), Baye Ndongo (14) and Mouhamed Sylla (13) led the way offensively.
- Baye Ndongo and Mouhamed Sylla both recorded double-doubles in the outing for the second straight game as the pair also logged double-doubles against Georgia Southern earlier this week.
- As a team, Tech dished out 20 assists with four Yellow Jackets recording multiple on the day. Lamar Washington led with seven, followed by five each from Jaeden Mustaf and Baye Ndongo. Kowacie Reeves Jr. added two.
- The 20 assists are a season-high, while 13 turnovers matched the season-low (Tech also had 13 miscues against UMES and Bryant in the first two games of the season).
- Tech shot 54.1 percent (33-61) from the floor for its best shooting effort of the season. It is the first time this season the Yellow Jackets shot better than 50.0 percent.
- Tech won the rebounding battle for the fourth time this season and outscored its opponent in the paint for the fifth time.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior Baye Ndongo (Mboro, Senegal) logged his 50th career game in double-figures and 21st career double-double with his 14-point, 14-rebound performance.
- It is the second consecutive game Ndongo posted a double-double. He recorded consecutive games with double-doubles last season, with his longest streak of double-doubles being five games.
- Freshman Mouhamed Sylla (Louga, Senegal) posted his fifth double-double in six career games behind 13 points and 11 rebounds.
- Sylla is averaging a double-double on the season at 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds. When competing in McCamish Pavilion, Sylla is averaging an impressive 13.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
- Redshirt-senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Macon, Ga.) got back to double figure performances, dropping in 18 points to lead the Yellow Jackets offensively for the second time this season. He has posted double-figure scoring performances five times in six games this season.
- Senior Lamar Washington (Portland, Ore.) dished out a season-high seven assists, leading the Yellow Jackets on the night. He added eight points to the scoreboard off the bench, seeing nearly 24 minutes of playing time.
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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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