Jackets Outlast Boston College, 81-76

Chestnut Hill, Mass. – Sophomore guard Tristan Maxwell knocked down seven three-point field goals and scored 22 points, leading four Yellow Jackets in double figures to lead Georgia Tech to a 81-76 Atlantic Coast Conference basketball win over Boston College Wednesday night.

Maxwell, playing in just his fourth college game, hit two of his threes in the final 3:35 as the Jackets (7-8, 1-4 ACC) rallied from a 72-68 deficit and capture their first conference win of the season.

The sophomore from Huntersville, N.C., had scored just nine points and had not hit a three-point field goal in three career games prior to Wednesday night. In 26 minutes, nearly matching his career total, he went 7-for-11 from distance.

Tech hit 11 threes in the game (in 25 attempts), a high for an ACC game this season and one short of the 12 the Jackets hit against Lamar in the season’s third game. The Yellow Jackets finished the game at 50.9 percent overall from the floor, their highest clip since they hit 56.5 percent against Charleston Southern on Nov. 22.

Tech and the Eagles (6-8, 1-3 ACC) were tied at the 17:27 mark before Tech went on a 12-0 run over 2:37 to jump out to a 54-42 lead. Boston College matched that run with a 17-3 run take a 72-68 lead at the 3:35 mark before the Jackets closed the game with a 13-4 spurt.

Deivon Smith hit three free throws and a layup during the closing stretch along with Maxwell’s two three-pointers, and Michael Devoe added a pair of free throws.

Georgia Tech had four players in double figures for the game. Jordan Usher scored 14 points with five rebounds and four assists before fouling out, Michael Devoe pitched in 13 points with nine rebounds and freshman Deebo Coleman added 11. Smith finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

Boston College was led by Quinten Post who scored 24 points with nine rebounds, while Brevin Galloway connected n four three-point shots and scored 18.

Georgia Tech stays on the road this weekend when the Yellow Jackets travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.

Jordan Usher tallied 14 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night. (photo by Keith Swindell)

 

Post-Game Notes

• Georgia Tech started a small lineup without one of its “5” men vs. Boston College, inserting freshman Deebo Coleman in the lineup in place of Jordan Meka, who had started the last three games.
• Tech has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in each of its last three games at Conte Forum. The Jackets connected on 50.9 percent of their shots Wednesday night after hitting 50.9 percent on each of their previous two visits on Feb. 4, 2018 (80-72 loss) and Jan. 11, 2020 seasons (71-52 win).
• Tech’s 50.9-percent clip against Boston College was its best since hitting 56.5 percent against Charleston Southern on Nov. 22. Tech had shot under 40 percent in four of its last five games, the lone exception being 41.1 percent vs. Louisville, and had connected on 36.8 percent combined in those five games.
• Tech’s 81 points was its highest total since scoring 85 against Charleston Southern. The Jackets’ two highest point totals since then, 72 vs Georgia State and 68 vs. Notre Dame, were both achieved in overtime.
• Tech’s 11 three-pojnt field goals were its most in an ACC game this season and one shy of the season high mark of 12 against Lamar in the season’s third game.
• Tech’s last five opponents have shot 29.7 percent from three-point range combined (30-of-101).
• Tech has shot 76.6 percent from the foul line over its last five games (59-of-77).
• Tech has made 41 threes in its last five games after connecting on 20 in the four games prior. The Jackets are 41-for-118 combined (.347) in its last five games, and 38-for-112 combined (.339) in its five ACC games.
• Tech has outrebounded its last two ACC opponents (40-38 vs. Notre Dame and 35-31 vs. Boston College), despite playing with its small lineup for the vast majority of those two games. The Jackets have been outrebounded in ACC games by an average of 5.6.
• Tech’s two high games in steals this season have come against North Carolina (11) and Boston College (10).
• Sophomore Tristan Maxwell came into the Boston College game having played three career games for a total of 26 minutes, scoring nine points with no threes. Against the Eagles he played 26 minutes, scored 22 points with seven threes.
• In the last 13 years, only Michael Devoe, Lewis Clinch, Adam Smith, and now Tristan Maxwell, have hit seven or more threes in an ACC game.
• Freshman Deebo Coleman made his second start of the season at Boston College. The 6-6 Memphis native had started the Georgia Southern game on Nov. 26 in place of Michael Devoe, who had the flu.
• Coleman has four double-digit scoring games this season, and two of them have come against ACC opponents – 13 vs. North Carolina and 11 vs. Boston College.
• Michael Devoe saw his 23-game streak with at least one three-point field goal come to an end, but the senior scored 13 points and moved into 19^th place in all-time scoring at Georgia Tech with 1,436 points, surpassing former teammate Jose Alvarado (1.429 from 2017-21).
• Jordan Usher has scored in double digits 12 times in 15 games this season, and has done so in seven straight games after missing in the three previous games. The senior has averaged 16.3 points over the last seven games (41-86 FG, 47.7 pct., 13-29 3pt FG).
• Usher is 14 points away from 1,000 for his collegiate career. The 6-7 guard/forward has 986 career points, 712 of them in a Tech uniform.

Freshman Deebo Coleman was one of four Jackets scoring double figures with 11 points. (photo by Keith Swindell)

 

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