Jan. 9, 2011
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
The ACC did no favors sending Georgia Tech on the road for its first two conference games, and didn’t leave the Yellow Jackets much time to digest their league opener before Round Two, either.
After falling 86-75 Saturday afternoon at Boston College, Tech will play at Clemson Tuesday.
Maybe it will be good to be busy so soon. There will be little time to dwell on a game that saw the Jackets up by a bucket early in the second half, and within three points in the final few minutes before B.C. made most of the plays late.
The Eagles (12-4) of first-year coach Steve Donahue played as if agitated after losing at home earlier in the week to Harvard for the third season in a row.
“We did a lot of good things, but not enough to win,” coach Paul Hewitt told radio man Wes Durham after the game. “That’s what I’m trying to get across to these guys; it’s not just what we’re capable of doing offensively, or one or two plays here or there. We’ve got to string a bunch of plays together over 40 minutes and make the other team earn things.”
Hewitt continues to tinker in search of combinations that will bring it consistently.
Redshirt freshman forward Kammeon Holsey started his third straight game, and scored a season-high 18 points, but he was quiet in the second half when the Eagles switched their defensive strategy, and he pulled a modest three rebounds in 32 minutes.
Holsey’s play was somewhat symbolic of Tech (7-7) as the Jackets made more than 55 percent of their shots in the first half, but just over 41 percent in the second half.
Tech never really found a handle for B.C.’s Reggie Jackson, who scored 25 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including a perfect outing on three 3-point attempts, nor Corey Raji. He scored 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting off the bench, and grabbed nine rebounds.
Said Hewitt, “We’ll get back in the gym [Sunday], and practice Monday and get ready for Clemson Tuesday night.”
