THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball (3-0) remained undefeated on Monday night, fighting past Southeastern Louisiana, 70-60, inside McCamish Pavilion. The Jackets utilized a 17-3 second half scoring run to establish a 10-point lead with five minutes left and held on through the end for a third-straight victory to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
Freshman center Mouhamed Sylla led all scorers with a personal-high 16 points to go along with a game-best 10 rebounds for his third double-double in as many games. With the performance, Sylla becomes the first Tech freshman to record three-straight double-doubles since Derrick Favors in 2009-10. Freshman Akai Fleming delivered 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting for his second straight game with 10-plus points (previously with 14 points vs. Bryant on Nov. 7).
The Jackets had four players in double-digits for the second straight game as senior guard Lamar Washington posted 13 points, six rebounds and three assists in his first game donning the White & Gold. Senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 12 points while junior forward Baye Ndongo delivered eight points and eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
Turnovers plagued the first half for both sides as Tech and Southeastern combined for 26 turnovers (13 apiece). The Jackets were able to knock down just under 50 percent of their shots (11-of-24) but went into the half with a two-point deficit. Sylla led the attack with 10 points, making each of his first five field goal attempts to go along with five rebounds and a block while playing all 20 minutes of action. Fleming also delivered nine points off the bench as 19 of Tech’s 29 first half points came from freshmen.
The back-and-forth battle continued into the second half, until the Tech defense tightened up, holding the visiting Lions to just three points for nearly nine and half minutes of game time. The Jackets used the momentum gained on the defensive side to go on a 17-3 scoring run, turning a 43-39 deficit into a 10-point lead (53-43) with just under five minutes to play. Ndongo was critical in the scoring run, scoring six points with a block, assist, steal and two rebounds.
Washington added to the lead late in the game, knocking down a pair of threes to stifle any momentum from Southeastern and allow the Yellow Jackets to seal the win with a final score of 70-60.
Georgia Tech will travel up the road for the 201st renewal of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” at Georgia, Friday at 9 p.m. inside Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network.