Georgia Tech Dumps Hampton in Cross Debut

THE FLATS – The Scott Cross era opened in style on Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion, as Georgia Tech men’s basketball raced out to a 42-15 halftime lead and never trailed in a 75-55 season-opening win over visiting Hampton.

In Cross’s first game as Georgia Tech’s 16^th head coach, his Yellow Jackets dominated visiting Hampton inside, with a 59-33 advantage in rebounds and a 48-22 edge in points in the paint. Tech shot 41.8% (28-for-67) from the field, while holding Hampton to just 27.9% shooting (17-for-61).

Three Jackets scored in double-figures – Colby Garland with a game-high 16, Kam Craft with 12 and Jackson Fields with 10 – but, perhaps even more impressively, four Tech players pulled down at least five rebounds, led by Cole Kirouac's game-high 10. The Jackets were unselfish, dishing out 11 assists on 28 made field goals, including four from Garland.

Georgia Tech needed less than five minutes to take a commanding 11-1 lead and held no less than a double-digit advantage for the final 34 and a half minutes of the game. They stretched the lead to as large as 30 points on a Craft 3-pointer early in the second half.   

Nehemiah Lawrence and Etienne Strothers led Hampton with 10 points apiece.

The Yellow Jackets look to move to 2-0 on Friday night when they host in-state foe Georgia Southern. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion. Tickets for Friday night hoops at the Thrillerdome are still available and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Postgame Notes

TEAM NOTES

• Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 in the Scott Cross era with the victory
• The Yellow Jackets moved to 11-3 in season-openers inside McCamish Pavilion, while Cross improved to 17-2 in season-openers as a head coach
• Head coach Scott Cross collected his 351^st career victory with the win, moving to 351-260 all-time
• Three Yellow Jackets finished in double-figure scoring numbers led by Colby Garland’s game-high 16 points. Kam Craft added 12 points and Jackson Fields hit double-figures with 10 points.
• Tech shot 41.8 percent (28-67) from the field, while holding the Pirates to just 27.9 percent (17-61). Hampton did not connect on a field goal until nearly five minutes into the game and hit its second at the 12:26 mark of the first half.
• Georgia Tech dominated on the glass with 59 rebounds, outrebounding Hampton by 26 (59-33), including a 40-23 edge in defensive boards.
• It marked the most rebounds by a Georgia Tech team since Nov. 25, 2020 when the Yellow Jackets pulled down 70 rebounds in a four-overtime game against Georgia State. The last time Tech secured 59 rebounds in regulation dates back to Dec. 28, 2006 against Troy in an 85-55 victory inside Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• Georgia Tech saw playing time by all 13 available Yellow Jackets in the season-opener with 10 contributing offensively.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Colby Garland made his Yellow Jacket debut with 16 points for his 53^rd career game reaching double-figures. Garland shot 70.0 percent from the field (7-10), while adding four assists and four rebounds.
• Kam Craft led the Jackets with two three-pointers in the win, finishing with 12 points, two assists and a steal.
• Jackson Fields donned the White and Gold for the first time in his collegiate career, adding 10 points to the scoreboard on four field goals.
• Cole Kirouac just missed matching his career-high in rebounding, securing a game-high 10. He added five points, two blocks and two assists.
• Tylis Jordan, in his collegiate debut, just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. He recorded five blocks to become the first player since 2023 to record five or more in a game. Javon Franklin was the last Yellow Jacket to accomplish the feat, doing so three times during the 2022-23 season.
• Making his collegiate debut, freshman Kayden Allen just missed double-figures with nine points on three field goals and three free throws. Allen added three rebounds, one assist and one steal to his stat line.
• Freshman Kaiden Bailey, Cody Cross and Haiden Harper also made their collegiate debuts. Bailey recorded two rebounds in just under 10 minutes of playing time.

MULTIMEDIA

 

PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

 

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Scott Cross was named the 16^th head coach in Georgia Tech men’s basketball program history on March 20, 2026. Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball 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 X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.