Jackets Fall to Demon Deacons, 80-64

THE FLATS – Despite taking a two-point lead midway through the second half, Georgia Tech men’s basketball was unable to slow Wake Forest’s offense, suffering the 80-64 setback on Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion.

While the Yellow Jackets (7-10, 1-6 ACC) shot a modest 38.5 percent from the field, the Demon Deacons (15-4, 5-3 ACC) were hot from the get-go, shooting better than 55 percent in the first half and almost 57 percent for the game.

Tech was led offensively by Michael Devoe, who finished with 22 points, while Jordan Usher finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Saba Gigiberia recorded a career-high eight points.

Wake Forest featured five double-digit scorers on the night, led by Alondes Williams, who finished with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets remain at home on Sunday, Jan. 23 when they host Clayton State for a non-conference matchup. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

Sophomore Saba Gigiberia (2 – above) finished with a career-high eight points in 17 minutes of action on Wednesday night. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

Post-Game Notes

• After tonight’s game, Georgia Tech has played six of its first seven ACC games against the teams in the top seven of today’s conference standings. The Jackets face the top two teams (Florida State and Miami) at home next week.
• Georgia Tech employed its eighth different starting lineup of the season against Wake Forest, inserting 7-1 sophomore Saba Gigiberia for his first collegiate start, taking the place of Deebo Coleman who had started the last two games against Boston College and North Carolina.
• Tech utilized 10 players for the sixth time this season, all played double-digit minutes, and for the first time this season, all 10 made it into the scoring column.
• Wake Forest snapped a 14-game losing streak to Georgia Tech on the Yellow Jackets’ home floor, winning for the first time since Feb. 22, 2004, when Chris Paul was a freshman on the Demon Deacons’ team. Of Tech’s 14 consecutive times at home over Wake, the last six took place at McCamish Pavilion, one at Philips (now State Farm) Arena, and seven at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• Tech received 13 points from its bench against Wake Forest, whose reserves contributed eight. It was the ninth time in 17 games this season that Tech’s bench has outscored that of its opponent. That happened just six times in 26 games in 2020-21. The Jackets’ reserves have scored 76 points in their last three games.
• Tech has made 30 steals across its last three games, matching its season high of 11 against Wake Forest, spread out over seven players.

• Saba Gigiberia made his first collegiate start against Wake Forest, notching a career-high eight points (4-of-8 FG) with three assists in a career-high 16:47 minutes. The 7-1 sophomore had played 12 games previously this season, playing as many as 14 minutes in road games at Duke (6 pts, 6 reb) and North Carolina (4 pts, 4 reb).
• Michael Devoe shook off a 2-point night at North Carolina by leading the Jackets against Wake Forest, scoring 22 points and making his first 3-point field goal in three games. Devoe surpassed Jim Wood (1,459 from 1974-77) for 18^th place on Tech’s all-time scoring list with 1,460 points.
• Devoe has scored 20 or more points nine times this season (22 vs. Wake Forest) and has reached double figures in 23 of his last 25 games. Devoe has reached double figures in points 73 times in his career. He has scored 20 or more points 29 times.
• Jordan Usher has scored in double digits 14 times in 17 games this season, and has done so in Tech’s last nine games. During that stretch, the senior has averaged 16.6 points per game (55-112 FG, 49.1 pct., 13-35 3pt FG). He averages 15.1 for the season, 14.4 in ACC games.
• Rodney Howard returned to the court after an 8-game absence, playing for the first time since Dec. 18 against USC in Phoenix. He scored just one point in 16:25, but had three assists and four rebounds.

Senior Jordan Usher was honored pregame on Wednesday night for being the latest Yellow Jacket to join the 1,000-point club. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

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