THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball went on a 16-3 second-half run to take a seemingly comfortable seven-point lead, but an experienced Miami (Ohio) squad scored the game’s final nine points and came away with a 72-69 win over the Yellow Jackets in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
Georgia Tech trailed by as many as six points early in the second half, but used a 16-3 run to take a 55-48 lead midway through the closing period.
The Yellow Jackets maintained the advantage throughout the final 10 minutes and led 69-63 with less than two minutes to go. However, Miami made three-straight shots over the next minute to cut the Jackets’ advantage to a point at 69-68. After Tech missed pair of shots on the other end, Miami’s Dae Dae Grant missed a jumper in the lane but Mekhi Lairy grabbed the rebound and hit the put-back to give the RedHawks a 70-69 lead with 12 seconds remaining.
On the Yellow Jackets’ ensuing possession, Deivon Smith missed a jumper, the last of six-straight shots that the Jackets missed to close out the game. Miami’s Dalonte Brown made two free throws on the other end to seal the RedHwaks’ victory.
Tech’s Michael Devoe led all scorers with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Jordan Usher scored 14 points and Rodney Howard added 10 to round out three Yellow Jackets in double-figures. Howard added a game-high 14 rebounds for his first-career double-double, while Usher came up just one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards.
The game-winning shot capped a 23-point performance for Lairy, who led four scorers in double-figures for Miami (1-0), a senior-laden team that returned its top nine scorers from last season.
Georgia Tech (0-1) returns to action on Friday when it hosts Stetson at McCamish Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Michael Devoe scored a game-high 26 points in Tuesday’s season opener versus Miami (Ohio). (photo by Danny Karnik)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM NOTES
- Miami is the third mid-major team from the state of Ohio in the last five-plus seasons to win at McCamish Pavilion, joining Ohio in the 2016-17 season and Wright State in the 2018-19 season. The Redhawks are also the third Mid-American Conference team to win at McCamish in that time period (Ball State won here in the 2019-20 season.
- The Yellow Jackets are 3-3 in season openers under head coach Josh Pastner, dropping the last two in a row.
- Tech used nine players and had a 12-10 edge in bench points. The Jackets’ reserves outscored their opponents last year only six times, but won all six.
- Tech scored 17 fast break points to Miami’s 11. The Jackets scored more on fast breaks than its opponent in 18 of 26 games last season.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Michael Devoe hit a 3 in his 11th straight game dating back to last Feb. 10 vs. Virginia, draining his first attempts against Miami. The 2021 ACC Tournament MVP made at least one in 23 of 26 games last season, including the final 10 in a row.
- Devoe made his first three 3-point attempts in the game and finished 4-of-6 for a game-high 26 points. His season high last season was 29 at Miami (Feb. 20), and his career high is 34 as a sophomore at Georgia (Nov. 20, 2019). It was his 21st career game with 20 or more points.
- Howard established career-high in points (10) and rebounds (14) for his first career double-double. His previous highs were 8 points at Miami last Feb. 20, 6 rebounds vs. South Carolina on Feb. 12, 2020 while a freshman at Georgia.
- Jordan Usher was Tech’s only other player in double figures with 12 and missed a double-double by one rebound (9).
Jordan Usher throws down a dunk for two of his 14 points in Tuesday’s season opener against Miami (Ohio). (photo by Danny Karnik)
Multimedia
Head coach Josh Pastner post-game press conference
Michael Devoe and Rodney Howard post-game press conference
