Jackets Host UMass Lowell to Finish HomestandJackets Host UMass Lowell to Finish Homestand
Men's Basketball

Jackets Host UMass Lowell to Finish Homestand

Yellow Jackets and River Hawks tip off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at McCamish Pavilion

GEORGIA TECH (2-0) vs. UMASS LOWELL (2-0)

 

THE FLATS – Looking to start a season with three straight wins for the second straight year, Georgia Tech plays host to UMass Lowell in a 7:30 p.m. tip Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.

Tech entertains the River Hawks to close out a three-game homestand to open its first season under new head coach Damon Stoudamire. The Yellow Jackets opened the campaign with an 84-62 victory over Georgia Southern on Nov. 6, then rallied past Howard, 88-85, last Thursday.

Winners of 26 games a year ago, UMass Lowell has opened its 2023-24 season defeating Rivier and Dartmouth by an average of 39 points. The River Hawks are in Atlanta for the second game in a stretch of six consecutive road games.

Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and ESPN+, and is also available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on the SiriusXM app and SiriusXM channel 388.

THE TIP-OFF

  • Georgia Tech started last season with three straight wins, but the Yellow Jackets have been 3-0 only once in the last seven seasons.
  • Tech has its first three games of the 2023-24 season in the friendly confines of McCamish Pavilion, where the Yellow Jackets are 125-68 in 11-plus seasons. Tech’s first road trip comes Nov. 22 at Cincinnati.
  • UMass Lowell is one of five guaranteed non-conference opponents for Tech that won 20 or more games in the 2022-23 season, including four that played in the post-season. Mississippi State (21-13), Penn State (23-14) and Howard (22-13) all played in the NCAA Tournament last season, while Cincinnati (23-13), a new member of the Big 12, reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. UMass Lowell (26-8) finished second in the America East Conference. The Yellow Jackets potentially could play two more 20-win teams in the Diamond Head Classic, with a possible game against Hawai’i (21-11) in the second round and TCU (22-13) in the final round.
  • Tech has played its first two games without two plyers expected to be significant contributors this season, senior guard Lance Terry who averaged 10.1 points per game a year ago, and 6-9 freshman forward Baye Ndongo, a four-star prospect from Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.
  • Tech’s four returning scholarship players – Miles Kelly, Lance Terry, Dallan “Deebo” Coleman and Kyle Sturdivant – accounted for 59.4 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points and 56.5 percent of the minutes during the 2022-23 season. They collectively shot 35.6 percent from three-point range.
  • Tech has a total of nine scholarship newcomers on its roster, five transfers who were judged the 17th best transfer class in the country by 247Sports, and four freshmen.
  • Tech’s five transfers combined to average 37 points and 17.2 rebounds per game last season at their previous schools. They have combined to play in 263 games in their careers, and have made 116 starts.
  • Miles Kelly is looking to become the first Tech player to open a season scoring 20 or more points in three straight games since Moses Wright in 2020-21. He also is looking to start a season with 25 or more points in three straight games since Dennis Scott in 1989-90.
  • Kyle Sturdivant, a transfer himself from USC prior to the 2020-21 season, is the elder statesman on the Tech roster, beginning his fourth season. He is the lone player remaining from Tech’s 2021 ACC Championship team and has played 91 games (49 starts) in a Tech uniform.
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Miles Kelly leads the ACC in scoring at 26.0 points per game. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

SERIES VS. UMASS LOWELL

  • Georgia Tech and UMass Lowell are meeting for the first time.
  • The River Hawks are just the third team from the current America East Conference Tech has ever met. The Yellow Jackets faced Maine in 1971 and Albany in 2010, both Tech victories.

JACKETS AT-A-GLANCE

Looking to return Tech to national prominence, Damon Stoudamire brings the experience of 13 years as a successful NBA player, 10 years of coaching experience on the collegiate level and four years on the NBA level. He has added a five-player transfer class that has been ranked No. 17 in the nation by 247Sports and four talented freshmen to the roster for 2023-24.

Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets is 6-6 junior guard Miles Kelly (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who led Tech in scoring (14.4 ppg) and three-point shooting (.379) and set a team record for free throw percentage (.898). Also back is 6-3 senior guard Lance Terry (College Park, Ga.), who averaged 10.1 points and connected on 38.8 percent of his three-point attempts, 6-6 junior guard Dallan “Deebo” Coleman (Memphis, Tenn.), who averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, and 6-3 senior point guard Kyle Sturdivant (Norcross, Ga.), who is back for his fourth season on the Flats after averaging 8.6 points and leading the Jackets in assist average (3.3 per game).

The transfer class includes 6-4 sophomore guard Amaree Abram (Port Arthur, Texas) from Ole Miss, 6-7 senior forward Tyzhaun Claude (Goldsboro, N.C.) from Western Carolina, 6-11 senior center Ebenezer Dowuona (Accra, Ghana) from NC State, 6-9 sophomore forward Tafara Gapare (Wellington, New Zealand) from Massachusetts and 6-7 junior guard Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (Macon, Ga.) from Florida. All the transfers except Gapare have significant starting experience at the previous schools, and Gapare played in 30 games as a freshman.

The freshman class is led by 6-9 forward Baye Ndongo (Mboro, Senegal) and includes 6-3 point guard Naithan George (Toronto, Ontario), 6-6 forward Ibrahima Sacko (Conakry, Guinea) and 6-9 forward Ibrahim Souare (Conakry, Guinea).

 

Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2

Looking to build on the success of last year’s Competitive Drive Initiative, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech athletics are partnering once again to launch Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2. CDI Turn 2 has a goal of raising $2.5 million in new gifts to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund by Dec. 31, and Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Foundation will match eligible gifts to accelerate the impact for Tech athletics. Like last year, not only will gifts to CDI Turn 2 be matched, but so will the contributor’s benefits in the way of A-T Fund giving levels and priority points. To learn more and contribute online, visit atfund.org/turn2.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its first 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 Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.