THE FLATS – Lance Terry, Deebo Coleman and Miles Kelly combined for 58 points to power Georgia Tech men’s basketball past No. 12-ranked Miami, 76-70, on Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
The Yellow Jackets (8-6, 1-3 ACC) raced out to a 12-point lead in the first half and weathered a strong second-half punch from the Hurricanes (14-2, 4-1 ACC), who sustained their first loss in conference play and ended a nine-game winning streak. The win snapped a six-game skid for Tech against top-25 teams dating back to its 2021 ACC Championship game victory over No. 15 Florida State.
Miami was able to push out to a 70-64 lead with just under five minutes left, but Tech stayed pesky and caught fire at the right moment, going on a 12-0 run over the final 4:50 to seal the victory.
Offensively, Tech was led by Terry, who finished with 24 points, two shy of his career high, and hit 4-of-5 from downtown while taking six rebounds. Kelly scored 20 points, going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, while Coleman and contributed 14 points.
Also finishing in double figures was Jalon Moore, who scored 10 to go along with six rebounds. Owning the boards was Rodney Howard, who hauled in eight on the night.
Tech went 17-for-19 from the free throw line, hitting 6-of-8 during its closing run.
Leading 12th-ranked Miami was Jordan Miller and Norchad Omier, who both finished with 17 points.
Georgia Tech heads back out on the road for a two-game road swing, beginning at Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks.
Lance Terry led the Jackets with 24 points, two shy of his career high, hitting 4-of-5 from downtown while taking six rebounds. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Post-Game Notes
TEAM NOTES
- Tech had lost six straight games to teams ranked in the AP and/or Coaches Top 25 before its win over No. 12 Miami Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets’ last win over a top-25 team was its 80-75 victory over No. 15/13 Florida State in the 2021 ACC Championship game.
- Tech started its sixth different lineup this season against Miami. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, and eight of them have started a minimum of six times. Neither of the two Jackets’ point guards (Kyle Sturdivant, Deivon Smith) were in the lineup for the first time this season.
- Tech’s 39 points in the first half and 70 points in the game against Miami were easily its highest totals in ACC games this season. The Jackets scored 26 at North Carolina (59 for the game), 26 vs. Clemson (66 for the game) and 25 vs. Virginia (56 for the game).
- Tech scored 13 points in transition against Miami, which had not allowed a fast break point in its last three games (42-0). The Jackets entered the game No. 3 in the ACC in fast break points per game (12.2).
- Miami entered the game ranked No. 15 in the nation in offensive efficiency, and the Yellow Jackets limited the Hurricanes to 35.3 percent from the floor, under 40 percent in each half, and 5-of-32 from three-point range.
- Tech’s sophomore group of Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly and Jalon Moore scored 48 of the Yellow Jackets’ 76 points against Miami. They had not all scored in double digits in the same game since Dec. 10 at North Carolina.
- Tech got just four points from its bench against Miami. The Jackets entered the game leading the ACC at 23.9 bench points per game and had outscored its opponents in nine of the first 13 games.
- Tech used only eight players against Miami, matching the fewest to see the floor this season (Georgia and Virginia), and got just 43 minutes from the three reserves.
- Tech ranked No. 2 in the ACC and ranked 18th in the nation in three-point defense entering the week, and limited Miami to just 5-of-23 from distance. The Jackets’ opponents are hitting 26.6 percent on threes for the season in all games. ACC foes have hit 27.1 percent.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Miles Kelly has reached double figures in points in nine straight games, leading the Yellow Jackets in the scoring column in six of those. Kelly has averaged 16.4 points and 3.9 rebounds over that stretch. He has connected on 49-of-107 shots from the floor (45.8 pct.), 27-of-61 from three-point range (44.3 pct.) and 23-of-24 from the foul line across those eight games.
- Kelly has scored 20 points in each of his last two games and is averaging 18.0 points over four ACC games.
- Kelly has hit his last 21 free throw attempts dating back to the Iowa game on Nov. 28, when he made the second of his two attempts. He was 7-fot-7 against Miami.
- Lance Terry missed his career high for points by two when he missed two free throw attempts in the closing seconds against Miami. He still finished with 24 points, his best effort as a Yellow Jackets and his sixth career 20-point game. His previous high for an ACC game this season was nine Dec. 10 at North Carolina, and his previous high this season was the 16 he scored in the opener against Clayton State. Terry hit 8-of-13 shots from the floor, 4-of-5 threes and 4-of-6 from the free throw line against the Hurricanes.
- The last time two Tech players scored 20 points or more in the same game was Nov. 19, 2021 at Georgia (Michael Devoe 37, Jordan Usher 21).
- Terry played all 40 minutes against Miami, the first time a Tech player has played the full 40 minutes in a regulation game since Michael Devoe did so against Wisconsin on Dec. 1 of last season.
- Jalon Moore has reached double figures in eight of last nine games, missing only against Virginia on Dec. 31 (two points). He has averaged 11.7 points per game over that stretch, and hit 51.7 percent of his field goal tries (38-of-74).
- Deebo Coleman scored 14 points against Miami for his highest point total since scoring 14 Nov. 26 against North Alabama. His only double-figure game since then had been his 13-point effort at North Carolina on Dec. 10.
- Rodney Howard has connected on 26-of-34 shots from the floor dating back to Nov. 23 vs. Marquette, covering nine games. That includes a streak of 13 consecutive makes from his last two attempts of the Northeastern game through his first four of the Alabama State game (4-for-4 vs. Georgia, 3-for-3 at North Carolina). For the season he has connected on 65.3 percent (32-of-49).
Miles Kelly (13 – above) scored 20 points for the second straight game, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. (photo by Danny Karnik)
