Dec. 23, 2015
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ATLANTA (AP) Adam Smith has brought a different dimension to Georgia Tech, and that shooting touch was on display Wednesday night as he scored 20 points on 11 shots to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 76-60 win over Colgate.
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard led the ACC in 3-point shooting last season at 42.4 percent while playing for Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech was 343rd out of 345 NCAA teams from beyond the arc (26.7 percent).
Smith made 3-of-5 long balls and 8-of-11 shots overall to set the pace on a night where the Yellow Jackets (9-3) shot 56 percent from the field.
Since transferring from one Tech to another after graduating, he’s had a green light from head coach Brian Gregory.
”He just tells me to shoot it; if I get an open one, let it go,” Smith said. ”It’s kind of easy to play with that.”
Colgate (4-7) made one run at Tech. After falling behind 11-2, the Raiders scored on five of their next possessions and took a 14-13 lead on Francisco Amiel’s 3-pointer with 11:56 left in the first half.
Georgia Tech turned that around fast. On a night when they forged a 34-21 rebounding edge, reserve forward Nick Jacobs soon tipped in a close-range miss by teammate Ben Lammers.
Seconds later, Lammers intercepted Colgate’s inbounds pass. He passed to Travis Jorgensen in the left corner, and Tech’s reserve point guard buried a 16-foot jumper. The Jackets led 17-14 with 11:22 to go, and never looked back.
Tech led 40-28 at halftime, expanding the lead to 22 points in the second half. Charles Mitchell scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jackets. Even though Mitchell missed a double-double for just the second time this season, Tech was overwhelming on the boards.
”They have a really big team,” said Colgate coach Matt Langel. ”They were just too big, too strong.”
Guard Austin Tillotson led the Raiders with 12 points, but once the Jackets reclaimed the lead in the first half, Colgate never seriously threatened.
Colgate shot 49 percent and made 6-of-16 3-pointers. But when the Raiders did miss, they rarely got the ball back. When Tech missed, the Jackets often did, holding a 16-7 edge in second-chance points.
The Jackets took 12 more shots than Colgate. Mitchell, Jacobs and Quinton Stephens had three offensive rebounds each.
”When you only miss 26 shots but get 12 rebounds, that’s a pretty good percentage,” Gregory said. ”I was very pleased with that.”
TIP INS
COLGATE: Wednesday wasn’t the Raiders’ first dance with an ACC team this season. They fell 78-51 at Syracuse on Dec. 8. ”For a program like ours, it’s a chance to come south . . . to play in a venue like we did tonight against a team the size of theirs is a big deal for us,” Langel said.
GEORGIA TECH: Smith’s 20 points were the most he’s scored for Georgia Tech. His career high of 28, for Virginia Tech, came against Radford two seasons ago. He’s already made more 3-pointers than any Yellow Jacket in all of last season. He’s 34-of-78 (43.6 percent) in 12 games. Quinton Stephens led Tech last season (32-of-107) in 30 games.
SLOW NIGHT
Tillotson was averaging 5.4 assists, but had just one. He’s sixth all-time at Colgate in career assists.
STINGY STINGERS
Tech point guards Josh Heath (two points, four assists) and Jorgenson (seven points, six assists) combined for 10 assists without a turnover. Last season, the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 394 times with 362 assists. This season, they have 178 assists and 131 turnovers.
UP NEXT
Colgate will open Patriot League play on Dec. 30 against defending league champion on Dec. 30.
Georgia Tech will play its final non-conference game Dec. 29, at home against Duquesne.
