Mercer Outlasts Georgia Tech, 83-73Mercer Outlasts Georgia Tech, 83-73
Men's Basketball

Mercer Outlasts Georgia Tech, 83-73

Slow start dooms Yellow Jackets in second home game

Final Box Score (.pdf) | Full gamebook/play-by-play (.pdf) | Multimedia | Photo Gallery | Postgame Notes

THE FLATS — Moses Wright scored 20 points with five rebounds in his second consecutive strong game, but Georgia Tech was unable to overcome a slow start in the first half and surrendered 12 three-point field goals in a 83-73 setback to Mercer on Friday night at McCamish Pavilion.

The Yellow Jackets (0-2) shot just 38.2 percent in the second-half (31.3 percent from three) en route to finishing at 45.9 percent overall. Meanwhile, the Bears (2-0) got off to a quick start shooting 57.1 percent from beyond the three-point line in the first-half and never looked back.

Wright, a 6-9 senior forward, made 9 of 16 shots from the floor in following up his 31-point night against Georgia State, while junior guard Michael Devoe finished with 14 points. Seniors Bubba Parham and Jordan Usher joined Wright and Devoe with double-digits in scoring, putting up 12 and 11 points, respectively.

An early Mercer run saw the Bears go up by as much as 10 points before Tech tied it up at 29-29 with a layup from senior guard Jose Alvarado with 2:52 left in the first-half. That would end up being the closest the Yellow Jackets came to retaking the lead, as the Bears outscored them 54-44 the rest of the way.

The Jackets had a slight advantage of 35-to-33 in rebounding, as Usher tied to lead the field with Mercers’ redshirt-sophomore guard Neftali Alvarez at eight boards apiece.

Mercer also had four players post double-digits in scoring, with redshirt-junior forward Felipe Haase tallying up 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Defensively the Bears were guided by redshirt-junior guard Jeff Gary who scooped up four steals.

Georgia Tech will return to the court on Sunday, Dec. 6, when it faces Kentucky at State Farm Arena in Downtown Atlanta. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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Senior forward Moses Wright put up 20 points in the second straight contest for the Jackets, leading both squads in scoring. photo cutline (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

 

Post-Game Notes

TEAM NOTES

  • Georgia Tech is off to its first 0-2 start since the 1974-75 season, both of those games were on the road. Oddly enough, Tech beat Georgia State and Mercer later on that season. Tech has not started a season 0-2 when both games were at home since 1973-74.
  • Tech has given up 22 three-point field goals in its first two games (22-of-55, 40 percent). The Yellow Jackets are 15-of-57 from three-point range and nearly 36 percent of their field goal attempts have come from behind the arc.
  • Tech has outrebounded both of its opponents this year by an average of +7.0.
  • After Tech and Georgia State combined for 97 free throw attempts Wednesday night, Tech and Mercer attempted only 29 Friday night.
  • Similarly, the two teams Wednesday night combined for 42 turnovers; Friday there were 25.
  • Wednesday night’s game lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes, while Friday’s took just 1:46.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS

  • Jose Alvarado (8 points, 7 assists, 1-4 3pt FG) has made a three-point basket in 20 straight games, the longest streak for a Tech player since Adam Smith knocked down a three in 24 straight games during the 2015-16 season.
  • Devoe (14 points 2-of-4 3pt FG) has made a three-point field goal in 12 straight games. His longest streak is 13 games, accomplished as a freshman.
  • Moses Wright posted his fifth career game of 20 or more points with an even 20 against the Bears. Wright has scored in double digits in 26 of 33 games dating back to the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Wright is averaging 25.5 points (17-of-34 FG) and 12.5 rebounds through two games.
  • Wright made two threes against Mercer, the first time he has made more than one 3-point FG in a game in his career.
  • Rodney Howard scored a career high six points in 13 minutes of action (scored a high of 2 seven times last season at Georgia).
  • Alvarado had one steal to improve his career total to 159, and sits No. 10 on Tech’s all-time list, and recorded seven assists to bring his career mark to 289, tied for 16th all-time at Tech.
  • Michael Devoe reached double figures for the 38th time in his career. He had 21 double-digit games last season, 15 as a freshman.
  • Bubba Parham scored 12 points against Mercer and has averaged 14 in two games. He reached double figures for the eighth time as a Yellow Jacket, including both games this season.
  • Jordan Usher notched his 10th double-digit game as a Yellow Jacket with 11 points against the Bears, and has scored 10 or more in both games this season.
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Junior guard Michael Devoe (o) also finished in double figures for Georgia Tech, tallying 14 points, five rebounds and three assists to finish the game. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

 

Multimedia

Postgame Press Conference with Moses Wright and Coach Pastner

Game Highlights (ACC Digital Network)

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