THE FLATS – Led by a double-double from Kowacie Reeves Jr., Georgia Tech men’s basketball made overcame a sluggish start to rout Alabama A&M in their final home game of 2023, winning 70-49 on Saturday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion.
Reeves led the Yellow Jackets (5-3) with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, posting the first double-double of his career, while Miles Kelly and Tyzhaun Claude also finished in double figures, scoring 11 and 10, respectively. Naithan George helped fuel the hot shooting with a game-high eight assists as well.
Tech shot 42.9 percent to build its lead up to 30 halfway through the second half, while its staunch defense continued, holding the Bulldogs (1-7) to a paltry 27.6 percent from the field (including 10.0 percent from downtown).
The Jackets also controlled the battle in the paint (32-22), fast-break points (23-14) and controlled the boards with a 55-28 advantage.
Alabama A&M was led offensively by Chad Moodie, who finished with eight points for the game.
Georgia Tech now heads out on the road until after the new year. The Jackets head up to New York City to take on Penn State in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival on Dec. 16 (noon, Big Ten Network) before embarking to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 21-24).
Miles Kelly (13) finished with 11 points and four rebounds on the day (photo by Danny Karnik)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM TRENDS
- Tech is 3-1 since freshmen Baye Ndongo and Naithan George, and senior transfer Ebenezer Dowuona entered the starting lineup.
- Alabama A&M’s 49 points were the fewest allowed by Georgia Tech since its 64-41 win over Elon on Nov. 11, 2019.
- The Bulldogs’ 27.6-percent success rate from the floor was the lowest allowed by the Yellow Jackets since Northern Illinois’ 26.9-percent effort against Tech Nov. 17 of last season.
- Tech had its most transition points of the season against Alabama A&M with 23, 19 of those in the first half when they raced to a 34-17 halftime advantage. The previous high was 13 vs. Howard.
- Tech committed a season-high 20 turnovers after averaging just 11.7 through the first seven games. Alabama A&M cashed those in for 17 points.
- Tech has assisted on 49 of 75 made field goals in its last three games (65.3 percent). The Jackets recorded 15 assists on 25 field goals against Alabama A&M.
- Tech has outrebounded six of its eight opponents and tied one this season, and enjoyed its widest rebound margin of the season against Alabama A&M (55-28).
- Tech remains one of the nation’s better offensive rebounding teams this season, grabbing 19 against Alabama A&M and averaging 14.5 per game. The Jackets ranked 29th-best nationally entering the game.
- Alabama A&M hit just 10 percent of its threes (2-of-20), the sixth opponent in eight games not to hit 30 percent or more of its long-range shots against the Jackets, who have permitted teams to make just 26.6 percent.
- Tech has played its first eight games without its full roster complement due to injuries. Senior guard Lance Terry, Tech’s No. 2 scorer last year, has not yet played this season.
- At least nine players have seen the court in each of Tech’s five games (10 vs. Howard, Mississippi State and Duke, 11 vs. Georgia, 12 vs. Cincinnati, 13 vs. Alabama A&M). Eleven players average 11 or more minutes per game.
- Tech finished its slate of games against teams nicknamed the Bulldogs, winning two of three.
PLAYER NOTES
- Kowacie Reeves, Jr., has scored in double digits in six of Tech’s eight games, including 20 vs. Alabama A&M. He has hit 47.8 percent of his shots from the floor and 40.6 from three-point range.
- Reeves has hit 8-of-15 shots from three-point range (53.3 pct.) in his last three games, 16-of-29 overall (55.1 percent).
- Reeves also was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line against the Bulldogs and is 21-of-22 (95.5 pct.) for the season.
- Reeves grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Alabama A&M, recording his first career double-double.
- Miles Kelly extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 16 after tallying 11 points against Alabama A&M. He has averaged 18.4 points per game over that stretch.
- Kelly has hit 22-of-27 from the charity stripe in Tech’s last five games after going 12-of-21 in the first three games. He is now at 70.8 percent for the season after setting a Tech record by making 89.8 percent a year ago.
- Tyzhaun Claude came up one rebound shy of his second double-double this season, scoring 10 points (4-4 FG, 2-4 FT) against Alabama A&M. Claude had 10 points and 10 boards in the season’s first game against Georgia Southern
- Tafara Gapare and Amaree Abram each scored season-highs of eight points. Abram saw his first action since Nov. 22 at Cincinnati.
- Deebo Coleman has committed just two turnovers in 192 minutes of action across seven games, and ranks No. 6 nationally in turnover rate (KenPom.com). He committed his second of the season against Alabama A&M.
- Freshman Naithan George has started Tech’s last four games at the point guard position and has averaged 5.0 points and 4.8 assists in those games. He had eight dimes against Alabama A&M.
Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (14) led Georgia Tech with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double. (photo by Danny Karnik)
