February 19, 2020

Devoe, Alvarado Lead Tech Past Wake Forest

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Winston-Salem, N.C. – Michael Devoe and Jose Alvarado combined for 46 points and nine assists Wednesday night, leading Georgia Tech past Wake Forest, 86-79, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

It was the fourth road win in conference play for the Yellow Jackets, who moved to .500 overall this season at 13-13 and improved to 7-8 in the ACC. Tech has secured back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, coupled with last week’s home victory over No. 5 Louisville.

Tech led the Demon Deacons (11-15, 4-12) for all but 2:23 of the game, building a 13-point margin in the first half and a 37-29 lead at the break after Alvarado and Devoe combined to score 21 on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and no turnovers.

Wake Forest rallied out of the break, scoring the first nine points to grab a 38-37 edge. Tech recaptured the lead on its next possession when Devoe fed Evan Cole for a dunk and never trailed after that. The Demon Deacons tied the game three times, but could never regain the lead as the Jackets kept them at bay with free throws, making 19 of 25 in the second half.

Tech shot 52 percent from the floor, hit 29 of 39 free throws and controlled the boards, 37-27.

Devoe finished the game with a game-high 24 points and five assists, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the floor, including a pair of threes, and 4-of-5 from the foul line. Alvarado set career highs at the charity stripe, making 13 of 15 tries on the way to 22 points. The 6-foot junior had four assists and just one turnover while playing the full 40 minutes.

Moses Wright (14 points) and Jordan Usher (10) both reached double figures for Tech. Evan Cole came up big off the bench with nine points and seven rebounds as James Banks III picked up three early fouls and fouled out after playing just 11:21.

Five Demon Deacons scored in double figures, with Brandon Childress and Jahcobi Heath leading the way with 16 points each.

Georgia Tech is on the road again for its next game, visiting Syracuse Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip at the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Georgia).

Michael Devoe scored a game-high 24 points with five assists. (photo by Jaylynn Nash)

Post-Game Notes

Tech has won back-to-back ACC games for the first time this season, and won at Wake Forest for the first time since Feb. 1, 2014, snapping a three-game skid at Joel Coliseum.
Tech has won four ACC road games for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when the Yellow Jackets finished 4-4.
Tech hit 29 of 39 free throws in the game against Wake Forest, the most for the Yellow Jackets in three-plus seasons under Josh Pastner, surpassing highs of 28 free throws made against North Carolina on Dec. 31, 2016, and 36 attempts against Sam Houston State on Nov. 22, 2016.
Tech converted 52 percent of its field goal tries against Wake Forest, the sixth time since the beginning of January the Yellow Jackets have hit at least half of their field goals in an ACC game.
Michael Devoe scored 20 points for the third time in the last five games. He has averaged 18 points per game over that stretch, hitting 53.6 percent of his shots from the floor, and 10-of-24 (41.7 pct.) from three-point range.
Jose Alvarado notched 20 or more points for the sixth time since the beginning of January with 22 points against Wake Forest. He also set career highs for free throws made (13) and attempted (15) in the game. He has averaged 18.8 points over his last five games, hitting 11-of-27 (40.7 pct.) from three-point range and 23-of-29 from the foul line.